Forgotten Warriors
by C.W. Smith
Summary: Unit01 Left Earth after Third Impact was avoided. Now the Beast has awakened from it's long slumber to complete it's final mission. At the Dawn of the Third Age of Mankind.
1. And the Sky Full Of Stars

Forgotten Warriors

Chapter 1: "... And the Sky full of Stars" / "All Alone in the Night"

By: Lord Legato Deathscythe and Isamu

Disclaimer: We don't own Evangelion or Babylon 5. If the owning guys want us to stop then we don't got much of a choice. But who knows. We're trying an Evangelion/Babylon 5 crossover this time round. We think this could be good if we pull it off right.

He felt light.

He couldn't explain the feeling, only knew that it was like he had been placed a float in space. With all that had occurred, all he could think about was how tired he was. He felt as if he could sleep from now until the end of time. As he closed his eyes the last thing he saw was a streak of red across the sky as blood red waters lapped on the shore.

He fell asleep with the gentle lapping in his ears, and the image of a young red haired girl at his side as they both slept on this shore of death.

--

The behemoth ascended into space, the wings of light carrying it higher into the vast darkness. She flew into the cosmos, going further from the place she knew as home. But she had no choice, her burden was that of a mother protecting her child. As she passed what was known as the moon to her in another life, she began to dream. Dreaming of a world that would not try to destroy the child.

She felt drawn to a place she could not know, led there by a creature that looked as if it were an angel from Heaven itself. It drew her towards the vastness of space, and calmed her so that she would sleep. She didn't know how long she would sleep, but as she did she dreamed of the world her son would be reborn into.

--

Sector 1138

Narn – Centari Boarder

Earth Year 2259

It was nothing more then a blip on the edge of the Centari cruisers sensors. But it was something coming from within Narn space. To the captain's credit, he made a half hearted attempt to hail the unidentified ship before he scrambled fighters and waited. It wasn't a long wait either. While not going fast, the relatively small object had been picked up only after it had gotten fairly close, almost to the boarder. As soon as it crossed, the Centari opened fire. As the first energy blasts hit, the object for the first time moved.

"Captain, there's an energy spike within the enemy ship."

"Bah, no matter. It might look different, and ugly, but it is no match for our fighters, much less this cruiser. Ready main cannons; let's finish this before it can send a signal."

"Yes sir!" The bridge crew began to return to their duties, when the man at sensor suddenly felt his blood go cold, and then it started.

The Beast felt things near by; hostile things. It had only a moment before it came under attack. That was all it needed. It Awoke. Its mouth opened in a silent scream, the vacuum of space swallowing it, and it brought its weapon, a double pronged lance of some strange alloy to bear. Its eyes narrowed, taking in the small enemies about it. It jerked its hand out sweeping across the horizon of its humanoid body. As it did so, a barrier of red, hexagonal, energy came into existence, neatly slicing more then half the fighters in half as it did so. As the other fighters broke pattern and swooped around to fire on it, it held up its hand, as if to ward the blasts, and in answer, the red field appeared again, this time as a barrier, stopping the fighter's deadly payload. Then it brought the battle to them.

With a another silent roar, the armor plates on the Beasts back split open, and wings of light unfurled. Faster then the ungainly shape would seem to allow, it sped forward, slicing into one of the remaining fighters with its lance. Then, almost contemptuously, it reached out its hand and grabbed another, crushing its fuselage with hardly a grunt of effort. Spinning, it though it's spear with unnerving accuracy, slicing the last two fighters in half, the spear then, sailing fast as night, came back to its hand. It turned then, looking at its larger opponent.

"Sir, all the fighters we scrambled have gone silent! Am attempting to prep and launch what fighters we have left!" One of the bridge hands screamed over the peals of the alarms.

"The primary weapons are having a difficult time locking onto the object due to its size and some sort of low key interference. I'm trying to switch over to secondary weapons and anti-missile systems." Another added over the din.

"We are a Centari Battle Cruiser; we shall not be defeated by some Narn treachery! Fire when ready!" The captain roared.

"Sir, its changed course... it's coming right at us!"

"Let it come, let it taste defeat at the hands of the Centari!"

The Beast flew forwards its enemy. It cared not that it was many times larger; it had defeated such foes before. Like the others, this was slow, its armor no much for the Lance, and its weapons could not penetrate the light of its soul.

"Captain, our weapons are having no effect. It has some sort of energy barrier!"

"Fire our main guns at it you fool!" The Captain screamed back.

"I AM!"

The captain turned towards the view port. He could see the vessel approaching, he saw death coming for them. "Transmit all battle files to Centari Prime! The Emperor must be made aware of this!" One of the crew men began to furiously type commands into his station when the ship shuddered. They'd been hit.

The beast smiled in pleasure as it ripped though the metallic skin of its enemy. There was a rush of escaping atmosphere, and when the beast roared this time, the savage sound echoed though the ship. The beast then narrowed its eyes, searching, and feeling. With another roar, it hefted up its spear and hurled it deep within the ship. The lance ripped though bulkheads, armor, and finally the fuel cells and engine core. The entire ship shuddered again as the lance left the other side, it was still for a moment, then, starting from the rear, the hull bulked outwards, white hot fires that turned the air to plasma ripped though the ships passages. Then, it exploded, torn apart from the inside.

A bit away the Beast held out its deep purple arm, and caught the lance. It turned its attention outwards, into the void. It then began to move, picking up speed with its wings of light, streaking across the stars. It knew where it must go.

--

Babylon 5

Earth Alliance Station – in orbit of Epsilon 3

Epsilon Eridani System

Two Weeks Later

The council room was in an uproar... again. However, the usual petty squabbles over territory and trade were not on the agenda. Nor was the war between the Narn and the Centari, which had begun to drag worlds within the League into the crossfire.

In fact, ambassadors G'kar and Molari had both called this session of the council together. It was enough to make Captain Sheridan nervous, as neither the Narn nor the Centari did anything together even in the best of times. For the two to act as one in the middle of a war was cause for concern. Or they had finally come to their senses and were going to end the war now.

And Mars was known for its white sandy beaches and tropical resorts.

Sheridan hit his gavel three times to get everyone's attention and start the council meeting. All the ambassadors except for Londo and G'kar took their seats. Delenn took her usual seat next to Sheridan, while the diplomatic attachés sat next to their ambassadors or their empty seats. Na'toth and Vir both looked nervous, in Vir's case a lot more nervous then usual.

"This session of the Babylon 5 advisory council and the League of Non-Aligned Worlds will now come to order. Ambassadors G'kar and Molari have the floor."

G'kar stood aside as Londo began, "Two weeks ago, one of our war ships patrolling the border of sector 1138 was destroyed, along with all her fighters. We at first assumed it was an attack by Narn forces in the area and sent out a mission to investigate. We then received the cruisers last transmission at Centari Prime. I direct your attention to the monitor."

Vir activated the data crystal in the port on the table, bringing up a distorted image of some object flying through space. The power of this unknown force could be seen as it destroyed the fighters the Centari had sent against it. Little detail could be made out except for massive explosions along the hull, the static as the cruiser had been torn apart from the inside by its own reactors. The only clear images that could be seen before the end had been a humanoid figure with what looked like wings of light, and a streak or red as it hurled some form of lance it carried directly through the ships power core.

The Council room was filled with stunned silence. Nothing that small could take down a Centari battle cruiser, or much else. Yet this object had obliterated the entire ship. The only thing anyone could here were the stunned murmurs of the various ambassadors.

"In Valen's name, what was that?" Delenn asked after she had been able to gather her wits.

Into the silence, G'Kar spoke. "That, is hardly all either. Observe." He then nodded to Na'toth and she cued up a data crystal of her own. This time on the screen the scene showed two Narn cruisers. The outcome however had been the exact same as the battle with the Centari. The Narn had been completely destroyed by this demon.

"Narn warships in the area intercepted the last transmission from the Centari cruiser. When the object was detected passing back into Narn space they moved to intercept and make contact with it. The captain of our cruiser however fired a warning shot at the object. The rest is as it seems. The entire group was destroyed."

"Do you have any information about this object? Where it's heading? What it is?" Sheridan asked. Something however was eating at the back of his mind about what he had seen.

The Drozi ambassador stepped foreword, joining G'Kar and Londo, "One of our trade ships came within visual range of this monster. They were ignored by it as it passed through and entered a jumpgate. But they were able to acquire visual data on the object."

The monitor switched to a clear view of the object flying through space. You could clearly make out the shape and form of the monster. It was covered in purple armor with green highlighting the structure. In its right hand a red metallic lance was held, in such a position to give it ease of use if it needed to. The image then magnified and enhanced a section on the creatures forearm.

The council broke into a frenzied uproar of anger and outrage.

The forearm of the beast barred Earther markings.

Sheridan just sat there, starring. "My God..." he whispered. He then stood and began to bring the chamber back to order.

Sheridan slammed his gavel down, bringing the council to some semblance of order. Though you could feel the tension simmering beneath the surface as the various ambassadors took their seats. After they had seated, Sheridan stood and addressed the council.

"I don't know exactly what this is, nor do I know anything about this. To my knowledge the Earth Alliance has no weapons fitting this description. And it is not Earth policy to interfere in conflicts between other races except when asked. I assure you I will do everything I can..."

Sheridan didn't get to finish his statement before G'Kar interrupted him, "We certainly hope that you do Captain, as this is a very SERIOUS matter."

Londo nodded his head in agreement. "I believe that, for the moment, there is nothing more for us to discuss."

Londo and G'Kar left the council chambers followed by Na'Toth and Vir. Slowly the League's ambassadors left as well, leaving only Sheridan and Delenn in the council room. Sheridan kept running the scene from the Drozi through his head. He knew he had seen those markings before, but it couldn't be what he was thinking.

Delenn broke the silence between them, "Do you believe that, if your government does have any information that they'd allow it out so easily?"

Sheridan thought on that, "No, they wouldn't. But that depends on if they know that this thing even exists. I have a hunch about this, but I need to do some research before I make a conclusion. If it's what I think it is..."

Sheridan was once again interrupted from his thought, this time by his link. Ivonova's voice came clearly over the little communications device as Sheridan and Delenn listened.

"Captain, we're receiving a transmission from the Agamemnon. They say it's Priority one."

Sheridan stood moving to the Council Chambers monitor, Delenn stood slightly to the side as the Babcom system showed the Agamemnon's captain. Sheridan's former first Officer on board that same ship, Captain Frank.

"John, good to see you again."

"And you to, what can I do for you?"

"We were traveling through hyperspace near sector 1377 when we detected an unknown silhouette, humanoid in form and moving at high speed. We've taken up a parallel course along the object but I thought you should be informed. John, it's headed straight for Babylon 5."

John and Delenn stood there, stunned at the revelation and worried about what this could mean to the situation. Especially now that this thing was headed their way.

--

The Beast slipped though the blackness of space, drawn by some deep longing it didn't yet fully understand. It thought again, if such a term is appropriate, of what awoke it. It had drifted in the void for centuries, undisturbed, wrapped in its own energy until a, shift, in the undercurrents of power woke it from its rest. It drifted for a time, unsure of itself. Its mission was long over, it knew this, and so why was it awake? Then, it was attacked. A single word blazed over and over in its mind. Enemy

Enemy.

Enemy.

ENEMY.

It had defeated them, the enemy, and moved on. It was then that if felt the pull. It didn't know what it was, or why it was drawing her to it, but she understood the pull, the desire, a desire to again have a purpose. It unfurled its wings, and began to move though the blackness. It had not been moving long when it sensed something else in the darkness, and again it was attacked. Again, the Enemy sought to hurt it. Again, the Enemy paid for its attack. Again, the Beast was victorious. It continued towards its goal, not even fully realizing what it was doing, ignoring those that did not seek to hinder it. It had decided, it would go towards the source of this, pulling, and may God help those who would stand in its way.

--

Sheridan had called the advisory council to meet. The league was not present at that time, as Sheridan wanted the Narn and Centari to see the information he had dug up first. It would most likely stun everyone in the chambers. Sheridan had kept this away from everyone until he was absolutely certain about what was heading their way. The Agamemnon's last communication put the object two days out from Babylon 5, and they had been providing as much information on the object as possible.

The object had made two more hyperspace jumps since the Agamemnon had been following it. Each time an energy surge had been detected from the creature's energy wings, forming a jump point. The amount of energy needed for doing a solo jump should have been beyond any vessel of the same size. Yet this beast practically ripped through the barrier between normal and hyperspace with ease.

Sheridan handed Delenn, G'Kar, and Londo printouts of the information he had been able to find. But the information he had was sketchy at best. It was to be expected however in this case.

"Before I start I want you all to know that Earth Force and the current Earth government had nothing to do with the construction of this weapon," Sheridan began.

"Then how did you gather this data on the beast Captain? If you or your government had nothing to do with it, then how is it that you were able to find anything on this monster?" Londo asked.

"Because, this weapon was created on Earth, two hundred and thirty-four years ago. The current Earth Government doesn't even know of its creation or existence. I recognized something when the Drazi played the visuals they had of the weapons flyby. The markings on the arm called it Eva-01. I don't know why it was created, or for what purpose. Most of the historical archives from the period have nothing about any such device. But I was able to dig around and I found something. Apparently the old UN commissioned the creation of this weapon, which they called an Evangelion. The reasons and need for it I wasn't able to find out. I couldn't even find out why it was in space. Everything I've been able to find, and that Earth Central have sent me say it's suppose to be a land based weapon."

The two ambassadors looked at each other for a moment. G'kar then turned to study the screen. Before he could though, Londo broke out into a loud laugh. "Do you really expect us to believe this Sheridan?" Londo said.

"I'm sorry Ambassador, but it's the truth. Earth Dome is trying to recover additional information on this as we speak, but it's slow going as most of those records are buried pretty deep by now."

Londo spun with a derisive sneer, and began to stalk back in forth in front of the view screen displaying what little information there was on Evangelion Unit 01.

"Even if this story is true, do you expect US to clean up YOUR ancient mess? My people have already lost two of our warships to it, and Mollari's have lost another. Are we supposed to forgive your people for their ancient incompetence as well?" G'Kar demanded.

"I really don't know what we can do to repay you for your losses, nor do I know if it's even appropriate. It was built more the 200 years ago. Escaping into space, much less getting this far out, is by no means capable by that level of Earth technology. And as I remember both your people fired first. If this was an automatic defense system then that would explain why you've lost your ships. As for you cleaning up the mess, that won't be necessary."

"Really Captain? And why won't it be?"

"Because Ambassador, it's on a course to this station. It'll be here in two days.... the chickens are coming home to roost."

--

The beast continued on through the endless night of space. Its senses had been flared as the pull had become stronger. It could almost see what was pulling it, and had now realized what its purpose was.

Evangelion Unit-01's final purpose WOULD be fulfilled.

To be Continued...

Authors Notes (LD): Well, I've been playing around with the idea of an Evangelion Babylon 5 crossover for the longest time. I couldn't quiet reconcile the two series however. It took a long time to figure out how to do it and what would be involved. It's a hard process and I'd like to thank my co-author Isamu for the extreme amount of help he's provided me for this fic. Thanks Isamu dude.

Authors Notes (Isamu): First off, I really dig doing crossover fics (it's the Rift's gamer in me...), so when LD said he was doing this, I jumped on the chance to help. It was a big plus that I'm a fan of both B5 and Eva of course. I expect more good things to come with this one. Thanks for letting me help with this LD.

Revision Notes: I went back through this chapter while I was on TDY to the Mid East. I realized there was a ton that was wrong with it, so I started working on revising this and the Second Chapter. I wanted to add more suspense about what was heading to B5. It was obvious from the first few paragraphs what it was so I changed them up to try to make this more ambiguous. Since you have probably read what we had for the first Chapter initially then you already know what's heading where. However I wanted to see if I could make this better.

A little note to people who really read my work, After I FINALLY finish the stories I have out right now I will more then likely try my hand at an original story. This will hopefully be done within the format of an actual book. I don't know what kind of world I'll create, but it's about time I started creating my own world instead of borrowing from people.

Later.


	2. Do you Remember Me? Return from Beyond ...

Forgotten Warriors

Chapter 2: Do you Remember Me? / Return from Beyond the Veil

By: Lord Legato Deathscythe and Isamu

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

To say it had been a stressful two days would be a gross miscarriage of the truth. It was far worse. Most of the dignitaries had demanded to leave immediately, and an increased military presence by Earth Force and both the Narn and Centauri had clogged jumpgate.

Ivannova watched as another transport left the station, this one probably filled to capacity with beings hoping to escape the forgone conclusion that Babylon 5 was all but doomed. She wasn't too sure that they were in the wrong either. It had been leaked by the media almost immediately about the vessel that was fast approaching, as well as its destructive power. In fact, it being only a few hours away, she was surprised at how few ships were leaving. Her link chirping snapped her out of the dark direction her thoughts were heading.

"Ivannova here," she replied crisply.

"This is Sheridan, what's the status up there?"

"Things are going well enough from this end, I guess. We have two more transports that are scheduled for departure today, before our _guest_ arrives. We'll have a lock down starting at twenty two hundred, and the arrival should be about zero two hundred tomorrow."

"So we have about, what, six hours or so?" Sheridan replied.

"Just about. On the plus side though, I've never seen the Narn and Centauri act so civilized around each other."

Sheridan chuckled as he got into a lift and typed in the code for blue sector, "Well, a common enemy I guess. Best thing that's happened for peace between them yet I'd imagine. Listen, I'm about to go to an 'informal' session with Londo, G'Kar, Delenn and some of the other ambassadors that have decided to stick around. They want a final update on the situation, keep me appraised of any changes."

"Right sir," Ivannova replied. "Is that all sir?"

"Yes, no wait one last thing. How much of our staff do we still have on duty?" Sheridan asked.

"We still have all the command staff, most of the medical staff, the maintenance staff is down to about half, and Garibaldi was able to keep his security staff at full, just in case," she replied.

"Good, wish me luck," Sheridan said as he rounded the corner into the conference room.

"Good luck captain," Ivannova said as she shut down the link.

--

In the residential area, a human security officer was getting ready to go on duty, and trying to reach a compromise of her own.

"But mom," the teen said. "Why can't I go? If this thing is going to rip apart the station, I might as well have a good view of it!"

The woman sighed as she put away the plates from dinner, not wanting to have this conversation again. "Well, first off, it's not going to. Secondly, I'll feel better if you're safe here, and not some place dangerous in case there's a panic. Third, it's a school night, and you have homework. Forth, because I said so." The two looked at each other. An epic battle of wills that every parent through out human history had fought with their children on eventful nights. Finally, the daughter sighed, and turned back to her studies.

"Well, it's not fair. If I have to be here, the least you can let me do is watch," the daughter said.

The mother was about to reply that it was at the other's insistence that she stay instead of going back to earth to stay with relatives in Germany, but decided not too. "Listen, I have to go on shift soon, do promise me that you'll stay here. Please?"

The girl sighed and was silent for a moment before finally saying, "Yes mother. I'll stay here."

"Thank you." The two hugged, and then went about their individual tasks. The mother putting on her uniform and the daughter beginning her homework, both lost for a moment in their own worlds.

"I don't even know why I have to go to school here. I already know all of this," the daughter mumbled.

"Yes, and how does that explain your marks in Minbari?" The mother said with a grin.

"Hey, I already know German, French, English, and Japanese, why do I have to learn an alien language too?" She moaned.

"Because it's good for you to know, that's why. Now, you take care, and remember. Stay here. Promise?"

"Yes, yes, I promise already! Sheash..."

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow sweetie." With that the mother left.

The daughter waited for a bit, before she looked at the time piece in the room. A mischievous grin spread across her face, "One AM, huh? What harm will there be to watch it if no one notices? Wunderbar..."

--

The remaining ambassadors were surprisingly well composed and cooperative when Sheridan entered the room. Delenn and G'Kar were exchanging pleasantries while Londo and the Drazi ambassador were discussing a game of cards that both seemed to have been at recently. Londo noticed him as soon as he entered.

"Ahhhh, Captain. The moment quickly approaches. We have how much time before _your_ wayward vessel arrives?" The Centauri said.

"A few more hours now, we expect it a little after one in the morning station time." Sheridan replied.

"Good, good. And do you think you will really be able to shut it down with those command codes your people were able to retrieve?"

"I certainly hope so, but if not, I hope you have stressed to your ships the importance of not firing on it. We hope to be able to establish some form of communications with it as soon as it leaves hyperspace."

"I believe that both of our fleets have been briefed on this Sheridan, but be warned that if it attacks our ships, we will not hesitate to destroy it." G'Kar warned.

"I don't think that will be a problem. From all accounts the only ships that have been destroyed were ships that fired the first shot. Every other ship that's been passed by it has be left alone," Sheridan responded.

"When will we know if the codes you have worked?" Delenn asked.

"We should know almost immediately. I did some checking though and there is a chance that this won't work at all. That is why for the safety of your crews and ships out there I'm asking you not to open fire unless fired upon. From the data I've been able to gather it should only attack if threatened. If one of your ships open fire and are targeted, then I doubt there is anything we can do except try to overwhelm it," Sheridan replied.

The council then simply waited for the coming of the beast.

--

She flew through the maelstrom of hyperspace, moving quickly as the pull had consumed her every thought. It would be there soon, and would fulfill the purpose it had been awakened to. The Lance vibrated as the beast came closer to its goal, and soon would tear through the fabric of space and lead her to whatever had called to her.

Soon now, very soon.

--

While Unit-01 continued on its path, the Agamemnon followed. Captain Frank had for the most part watched the construct as they had continued towards Babylon 5. There had been the periodic transmissions to update B5 on the monsters status and the various scans they had ran to try to figure out what exactly this was. The scans had proved to be fruitless due to the energy field protecting the thing. As far as sensors were concerned, it wasn't there except for its mass.

Captain Frank simply continued to watch the thing that had been designated Evangelion Unit-01, or as the crew had come to call it, Eva. Its shortened name did no justice to the fear simply looking at it brought to Frank's heart. It had after all destroyed several Narn and Centauri Battle cruisers and fighters. It would make short work of the Agamemnon if they opened fire on it.

But soon, it would be Sheridan's problem. And while the Agamemnon had the option to retreat and run for safety, Babylon 5 was for the most part a sitting duck.

Only a few more hours, and then they would see if they could stop the beast.

--

Security had spread out all over Babylon 5 to help keep the peace. Garibaldi had kept up for the most part from the station house, using it as a central staging area. Things for the most part had been quiet, with most of the shop keepers and workers closing up early to get into their quarters before the lock down. All and all it was quiet on Babylon front. Too quiet if you asked Garibaldi. There was something going to happen, he could feel it.

--

The only ambassador not in the council room was Ambassador Kosh. He rarely concerned himself with the worries and every day affairs of the other races. Only one thing concerned his thoughts most days. He would occasionally watch the council members debate over things like territory, trade routes, skirmishes with their neighbors. None of it truly mattered to the Vorlon Empire. They only cared for one thing.

The coming of the Shadows. The beginning of yet another war with them.

But this beast coming towards Babylon 5 intrigued him. There was something about it that pulled at his senses. So he had decided he would observe the creature from one of the observation decks along the cobra arms. The corridor he had chosen to take was deserted. They were always deserted when Kosh walked through them.

That was the way he preferred it.

He did not however expect to be addressed from behind.

"Ambassador Kosh Naranik I presume?" asked the voice of a young human girl. As Kosh turned around to face his addresser, he could tell this was no ordinary human. If she were in fact human.

Before him stood a young woman, maybe fourteen years of age. Her hair was a shade of blue like the clear sky of Earth, and her pale skin stood out in the darkness of the corridor. But her eyes stood out the most.

They were the color of blood, a deep red that intrigued the Vorlon.

"Who are you?" Kosh asked, the low rumble of his true voice an undertone to the smooth synthesized translator in his encounter suit.

"Rei, it is what he called me. You may call me that as well," the young girl replied.

"What are you?" Kosh asked.

"What are _you_?"

Kosh was for a moment thrown by his own question being turned on him, but then he understood. He understood all too well.

"Interesting..."

"She will be here soon, the mother has finally become willing to release her child. You must protect him. The Shadows of the past and present must not be allowed to harm him."

"You know what may be at stake?"

"Yes, but his time has passed, as has mine. Have faith in his kind as I had faith in him."

The sound of ventilation grating being kicked open behind him drew Kosh's attention, and when he turned back the specter that had called itself Rei had disappeared. The Vorlon turned back to the grating with great interest.

He did not believe in coincidence.

Asuka cursed as she kicked the ventilation grating open. It was bad enough that the pressure doors had dropped, stopping her near blue-14. But that vent had been dusty as all Hell and she looked as if she had gone through one of Grandmother Soryu's old storage sheds.

The Soryu's never threw out anything that was considered a family heirloom. She was certain that there were boxes and pictures from all the way back to the late 20th century somewhere in that storage unit.

Her Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandmother had started that tradition all the way back in 2016. They still had photo albums and belongings of hers somewhere in the two-hundred and fifty years worth of artifacts they had collected. All preserved so that no one could ever forget them.

She remembered helping her grandmother go through some older photos that had been saved to data crystal. It was really something to be able to see your family's history so completely.

As she stood up in the corridor she came face to face with one of the most mysterious aliens on the entire station.

Kosh looked at the young human girl, taking in all he could about her. She didn't seem out of the ordinary really, on the outside.

But perhaps she was in the right place at the right time.

"Who are you?" Kosh asked.

"Asuka Soryu," Asuka replied, she would normally have been extremely proud of her appearance, but decided that she should reign in her boisterous personality some. This was, after all an Ambassador. At least that's what she would tell herself later.

Kosh looked at her for a moment longer then began moving on.

"Come, we must great our guest," Kosh said.

Not knowing what she had walked herself into Asuka followed. In the back of her head a small voice could be heard telling her she should have done what her mother had told her and stayed in their quarters.

--

The Beast had been in this, place, for some time. She knew, on some instinctual level, that she had crossed a truly vast amount of space in that time. A memory, not entirely her own, bubbled to the surface making the Beast remember the Dirac Sea that she had once been trapped in. She quickly dismissed this as non-important. She was getting close.

Meanwhile, on Babylon 5, time was ticking by all too fast, as they awaited the arrival of their wayward weapon.

Sheridan looked around at the assembled security officers and ambassadors, pondering for a moment how it would look if the station was torn apart by the Eva. He quickly dismissed such thoughts.

"Are you alright, John?" Delenn asked softly, so as not to be overheard by the other delegates.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," he said.

Delenn looked quizzically at him for a moment, but let it drop.

"It's time," Ivannova said.

The assembled ambassadors turned to the view port.

The Beast sensed it. It was time. With a roar felt by the crew of the Agamemnon it brandished the Lance of Longinus, The Spear of Destiny, and warped it's AT field around the edge. She slashed the lance down across her path, ripping through the fabric of hyperspace.

The Ambassadors and Captain Sheridan watched in a mix of horror and amazement, as something like a jump point rippled out ward. The tear in space exposed the maelstrom of hyperspace as Unit-01 tore it's way through.

It had arrived...

Sheridan watched in amazement as after Unit 01 had torn its way out of hyper space,it began buzzing the assembled ships. Luckily, none had opened fire or this very well might have gone very sour. Now the thing had stopped though. It floated in space, almost peaceful looking, silently regarding the station. Sheridan gave Ivannova the order over his link. "The codes, now," he said.

Ivannova nodded and punched a few buttons on her control panel even as the Eva began to hurtle towards the station. "Codes are in captain," she said.

"Let's hope this works..." Sheridan whispered.

Unit 01 suddenly stopped in space, as a whisper of code suddenly infringed upon its thoughts. She focused in on the noise, listening for a moment. The codes seemed to almost form a spell, trying to wrap itself around the Eva, calm it, put it back to sleep. With a dismissive thought, the Eva shredded the code, roaring though the ambiance with mirth. It had long since thrown _that_ harness.

As the machines roar rattled its way though the station, Sheridan mumbled, "How the hell." As the other ambassadors looked at each other with growing alarm he looked back at Ivannova. "What happened?" he demanded.

"Don't know sir, running a check on the software now," she said.

"It's coming straight for us," G'Kar said softly enough to get everyone's attention.

Indeed, the Eva had resumed its course and was again hurtling at the station.

"I know sir, we need those codes..." Ivannova said.

"Get ready to tell the ships to open fire," Sheridan said. As the Eva began to skim the surface of the station he added, "better yet, we need a miracle."

Unit-01 flew quickly along the length of the largest of the vessels. It was here, she knew it was. The calling was coming from this place, this large blue construct. It was here. But where? She had to find it, had to find what was calling her as she kept strafing along the hull of Babylon-5.

Asuka was pressed up against the view port, trying to get another view of the circling Eva. Behind her, she felt the odd, presence, of Ambassador Kosh. As she looked around, trying to see the Eva, her mind began to wander.

"_Kosh isn't really all that bad, especially for an alien. Kinda weird, weirdly quite at least, but he seems all right. Almost creepy quiet at times, but not in that sneak up behind you with a knife creepy, just in that what is he thinking, is-he-looking-right-though-me kind of creepy, but really not that bad. I hope mom's OK. I wonder where she's assigned for this? I hope it's someplace on a higher deck, you just know brown sectors gonna have a riot. They seem to like those. And... oh my."_

Seemingly out of nowhere the Eva had come. Its head was now even with the view port and it was looking eye to eye with her.

"Mein Gott in Himmel..." Asuka breathed as she fell back from the window. The beast was staring right at her. It was almost as if it were looking right into her soul. There was something else though about this monster, something that scared Asuka to no end.

She had seen this beast before, in her nightmares. Down to the glowing eyes facing her right now.

Kosh watched it all with his normal serenity, as the Eva continued to regard the young human; he knew that it paid him no mind. It had found what it was looking for.

"Interesting," the synthetic voice murmured.

Asuka could only watch the monster that was watching her. The beast was the first to break the staring contest.

"You have seen this before?" Kosh asked.

"I've never seen anything like it before in my life," Asuka replied.

"And yet, you recognize it."

"Yes."

"From where?"

"Nightmares, horrible nightmares. I used to get them all the time when I was younger. I'd see this thing as it is now, and then it would be as if my entire body was being ripped apart. I haven't had that nightmare in years," Asuka replied quietly. It couldn't be the same thing. There was no way she could have even imagined something as terrifying as this.

"I see," Kosh said, then returned to calmly watching the stars.

--

The awkward pair had not been the only two watching the creature stop in front of the Observation deck. The entire council and the league had seen it as well.

It was Ambassador Mollari who asked the question on the gathered minds, "What is it looking at?"

Sheridan also wanted to know, and tapped his link.

"Control, have the maint-bot zoom in on the Observation deck at the base of Cobra Arm Two."

The response came in, and the image shifted as the maintenance 'bot moved towards the deck.

Some weren't so shocked to see Kosh on the other side of the glass. That didn't disturb them, as the Vorlon usually did not join them in these instances unless he felt it necessary. They were amazed he had even been curious about the beast but not enough to really care.

It was the young human female on the deck with him that peaked their curiosity.

Delenn asked that question, much to Sheridan's relief, "Why is Ambassador Kosh with that young girl?"

"I don't know, but I think I'm going to go join them," Sheridan said as he moved to leave the council chamber. Delenn followed close behind.

--

As Sheridan and Delenn made their way to the Observation Deck, Unit-01 continued its voyage along the station. There had to be a way in for it, some way inside this place so she could get to that call. She didn't want to do anything to the girl, but she had to get closer, to get inside this place.

Flying along what appeared to be the front of this place she found what looked like a small docking port. It was a way in, but she couldn't fit in. There must have been another way inside.

Unit-01 found its entrance further up between the two extensions at the top of the station. The Zero Gravity Cargo bay.

"Commander Ivannova, the Evangelion is trying to get in through the Zero-G Cargo bay!" reported Lt. Corwin.

"Clear that entire area! Lower the blast doors on the cargo bay and keep them locked. We might not be able to stop it but we can slow it down enough to try the shut down codes again."

"Yes ma'am."

Unit-01 settled in the cargo bay, and for the first time in two and a half centuries set her feet down on solid grounding. She walked into the dock towards the doors that would give her access. She could feel it through the deck plating when the blast doors fell.

It didn't matter, one way or another she would get inside.

They thought they could keep her from her goal, they were sadly mistaken. Unit-01 approached the massive door that held the barrier between the life forms inside and the cold harsh vacuum of space separated. She placed her large hands on the door and began to pull the door open.

When they didn't budge she used the lance to pry them open, succeeding in getting a handhold in the large metal barriers. Unit-01 was inside.

"The Eva has gotten past the Space Doors Commander!"

"Drop the secondary blast doors! We don't want to lose pressurization when she goes through the inner airlock." Ivannova ordered.

Unit-01 had already entered the inner cargo hold. There was no way she could get any closer without destroying large portions of the interior. That could risk harming the other she sought.

She had gotten as close as she could risk, it was time for rest.

"It's stopped!" Lt. Corwin reported.

"What's it doing?"

"We're registering a power drop from the Eva. She seems to be shutting down and settling into cargo bay 4."

_Well, at least we aren't all dead... yet. _Ivannova thought to herself.

"Ivannova to Garibaldi."

"Garibaldi here."

"Get a security team to Zero-G cargo bay 4. Have them post just outside the cargo bay. I don't want anyone getting in there until Capt. Sheridan gives the okay."

"Understood. Garibaldi out."

Now came the waiting, waiting for answers or waiting for death Cmdr. Susan Ivannova didn't know.

--

Sheridan and Delenn entered the observation deck, Kosh and a noticeably shaken young girl greeting them. Sheridan had a lot of questions for the two, but when dealing with Ambassador Kosh he had long since learned that getting answers from the Vorlon were easier said then done. If you got an answer at all it usually didn't make sense.

Delenn asked the first question to the young girl, "What is your name young one?"

"Asuka," she replied, still not over the shock to her system. It was the shock of seeing a thing from her nightmares made living breathing reality.

"Why did you come here, Asuka?"

"To see that... thing. I didn't think it be a problem really. But seeing it..." Asuka broke off. Her voice left her and she could only stand there, her skin having turned pale with fright and worry.

Kosh spoke next, "Wait for me in the corridor, and then we shall give our guest a proper greeting."

Asuka simply obeyed the Ambassador's order, too caught up in the moment to protest.

After Asuka had left the three alone, Sheridan asked the question on his mind of the Ambassador.

"Why did you bring her here?"

"She was in the right place, at the right time," was Kosh's reply.

Mysterious as ever.

"Why though, what's so special about her?" Sheridan asked.

"She is the second piece of the puzzle," was Kosh's answer. He then proceeded out of the observation deck, leaving Delenn and Sheridan to themselves.

"The second piece of the puzzle? What does he mean by that?" Sheridan asked.

"I don't know, but I believe we may find out if we simply follow Ambassador Kosh. I doubt he will do anything that would harm Asuka."

"I'm not so worried about that. Kosh isn't the type to do anything to harm anyone. What worries me is, what's the puzzle going to look like once all the pieces are put together?"

The two left the Observation deck, and caught up with the unlikely duo.

--

The scene outside the cargo bay was nothing but chaotic. All the Ambassadors had gone there, and now Londo and G'Kar were at the head of the diplomatic mob demanding they be allowed in to inspect the Evangelion.

"That thing destroyed several of our ships. We DEMAND the right to inspect it, so that we can decide how to proceed further!" Londo shouted.

"I'm sorry Ambassador, but until Captain Sheridan gives me the all clear no one is entering that cargo bay. We don't know if this thing is going to start moving or not, so for your safety I am asking you to wait," Garibaldi said, his patience for the Ambassadors quickly running out.

But if he killed them he could start a war.

The signal from Garibaldi's link saved him from having to answer any more questions for the time being.

"Garibaldi."

"Michael, Ambassador Kosh is heading for the cargo bay with a human girl named Asuka. I want you to let them is as soon as they get there."

"Whoa, Asuka? Red hair, Blue eyes, about fourteen years old?"

"You know her?"

"Ya, she's the daughter of one of my officers. What's she doing with the Ambassador?"

"I don't know. Keep the rest of the ambassadors out of the cargo bay until I get there. We'll let them see the thing the same time any of us do."

"Understood, Garibaldi out," he said then shut off the transmission.

Why was the kid with Ambassador Kosh?

"Sarah, come over here for a sec."

A red-haired woman in her late thirties approached Garibaldi from the mass of diplomats.

"What's up Chief?" Sarah Soryu asked.

"Do you have any idea why your daughter would be hanging around Ambassador Kosh?"

"None, she should be in our quarters. I told her to stay there so she'd be safe."

"Well, looks like she didn't. And now for some reason the Ambassadors with her. They'll be here in a moment. I thought you should know." Garibaldi said.

"What's going on here Chief?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it. I don't like it a lot."

"Asuka is going to be in a lot of trouble when I get her home," Sarah said.

"Considering that the Vorlon is involved, I think she already is in for something rough ahead. Take it easy on the kid."

"Alright Chief. But still, what do you think Ambassador Kosh would want with my daughter?"

"When it comes to the Vorlons, it could be anything. And I would advise against asking him directly. You won't get an answer that makes any sense."

"Alright Chief."

Just as they finished their conversation, Kosh and Asuka arrived in the cargo bay.

The rest of the Ambassadors almost instinctively moved aside, letting Kosh and his companion pass by. As they approached the lock, Garibaldi stepped forward and opened the hatch, letting Ambassador Kosh and Asuka inside.

The door shut before Sarah could say a word to her daughter, but she did see her.

Asuka looked terrified.

"Why is Ambassador Kosh being allowed in while the rest of us are forced to remain out here Mr. Garibaldi? We have just as much right as he and that girl do to see this monster!" Londo shouted.

"Captain Sheridan said they were to be let through. He wants you all to wait for him to get here before proceeding."

"Then why was Ambassador Kosh allowed in before the rest of us?"

"I don't know Ambassador, but if you want you can ask him yourself," Garibaldi answered. That would shut Londo up.

Sarah wasn't concerned with the Ambassadors anymore though. She had something bigger on her mind.

_Asuka, what have you gotten yourself into?_

--

They stood there, looking up at the beast. Watching it as it rested in the girders and equipment that crowded the cargo bay. It sat there silent, but to Asuka it looked more like it was sleeping. Waiting to wake up at anytime and come for her.

"She sleeps now, our guest will rest after her long journey." Kosh said.

The fact he said rest instead of shut down worried Asuka. It meant this thing would wake up.

"She will soon awaken to fulfill the purpose that brought her to this place."

"What purpose is that?" Asuka asked, the fear filling her voice.

"To give birth to her child a second time," Kosh replied, the mixture of the translators synthesized voice and the Ambassadors true voice mixing enough to settle Asuka's nerves slightly.

"Go now, return to your quarters and rest. She will do no more tonight. Tomorrow I will come for you and we shall see what she wishes to impart into our care," Kosh said.

It seemed that Asuka was going to be involved in this no matter how much she wanted to run away from that beast.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you tomorrow Ambassador," Asuka said and moved to leave.

"Kosh," the Vorlon corrected.

"Sir?"

"You may call me, Kosh," the Vorlon said. The head piece of Kosh's encounter suit inclined in a nod as Asuka returned the gesture. As the girl left the Cargo bay, Kosh looked up at the Eva and waited.

--

Things were getting really ugly. Now the Ambassadors had started in about Asuka. That had been a mistake, especially when Londo and the Drazi Ambassador began demanding immediate access to her for questioning. Sarah was just about to blow.

Soryu's weren't known for their even tempers.

"Look, you don't get access to her without consent of her parent or legal guardian. That is the way it is when the person in question is a minor," Garibaldi bit out. His patience had long run out and he was running purely on will alone to keep from shouting at the Ambassadors.

"Then present her parent to us so we can acquire that consent. We have a right to interview anyone involved in this situation!" Londo ordered.

Sarah was ready to rip that large hairdo of the Ambassadors right out of his scalp.

"You want to talk to her parent, fine. Sarah, I got some people who want to ask you a question. Ambassador Mollari, Officer Sarah Soryu."

Officer Soryu came up behind Garibaldi, her eyes already narrowed in a glare that could melt through the hull.

"Before I do anything chief, hold this for me."

"Hold what?"

Sarah took her weapon from her side and handed it to Garibaldi.

"Take my PPG, and take my link. Permission to go on a temporary leave of absence Chief?" Sarah asked.

It may have been a question, but saying no wasn't an option. Even Garibaldi knew that. Not because of the situation, but because the tone in Sarah's voice screamed "You say no, I rip your kidney's out."

"Done."

"Good, now Ambassador Mollari. That girl happens to be MY daughter, and you aren't going to get within a sector of her without MY permission. And if you think I'm just going to LET YOU walk all over her JUST because your some high level diplomatic dumkompf then you are SADDLY mistaken!" Sarah ranted.

For Londo, that was not an acceptable answer. "How _dare_ you take that tone of voice with _me_? I'm the representative of the Centauri Republic; I have every right to question her, as she has somehow gained special access to a vessel that has destroyed several of my peoples."

"And that somehow gives you the RIGHT to invade on HER privacy? If you do, you better double check your intelligence."

"It would almost seem that you're hiding something from me on this. Surely, if your daughter has nothing to hide, then you should have no fear of me asking her a few questions, yes?"

"No. Where the hell do you get off at trying to walk over our rights like this? This is an outrage!"

"Funny, I was about to say the same!"

The diplomats watched, stunned as the two verbally berated each other, neither really gaining an advantage. Garibaldi and Vir looked at each other and came to a silent agreement.

"Sir, perhaps a more, diplomatic, solution could be found?" Vir said as he tried to move Londo away from the human.

"Sarah, calm down before we have an incident," Garibaldi said.

G'Kar watched the two verbal combatants being pulled out of the fray, and decided to try his hand at things before things took a turn for the genuinely worse.

"Officer Soryu, I understand you are probably as, interested, as we all are in your daughter's involvement. I propose that an interview be done as soon as is convenient and feasible for yourself and your daughter," G'Kar said, keeping his tone level as he spoke.

"That sounds like an excellent proposal Ambassador G'Kar. What would this interview consist of?" Sarah said, through only slightly clenched teeth.

"I propose that the interview itself be attended by you and your daughter, myself to represent the parties interested," he indicated Londo with a nod of his head, then himself, placing a hand on his chest, "Ambassador Delenn as an objective observer and Captain Sheridan to aide you in defending your daughters interests. This would be done in as relaxed a setting as possible. Would this be a satisfactory arrangement for you?"

Sarah relaxed her glare slightly as G'Kar spoke, "Yes Ambassador, that is most satisfactory. When I have had a chance to speak with my daughter I will inform you personally."

"Thank you Officer Soryu, I assure you we will make this as quick and painless as possible," G'Kar responded. He then brought his fists together in the Narn gesture of gratitude and farewell. Then the Narn ambassador pulled Londo off to the side to discuss things.

"What possessed you to begin yelling back at her Mollari?" G'Kar said though clenched teeth as they walked away.

"She struck a nerve, G'Kar. I am impressed though, such fire," Londo said.

"Has anyone ever told you not to get between a mother and her cubs?" G'Kar mumbled.

Sarah stood still while the Ambassador's left, her temper slowly cooling down. Garibaldi stood silently behind her. She turned and looked him straight in the eye.

"You okay?" Garibaldi asked.

"Yeah Chief. Sorry I probably could have handled that better. Us Soryu's are famous for our extremely short tempers."

"No need, I don't think Londo's going to take it personally. I'm more concerned about you. How you holding up?"

"How would you be if your daughter had somehow just walked into an interstellar incident almost by accident? I saw her before she went in to the cargo bay with Kosh. I've never seen her that scared in her life."

"If you need anything you know you can call on me. I'll help you anyway I can."

"Thanks Chief, that means a lot."

It was then that two things happened at once. Captain Sheridan and Delenn arrived in the corridor leading to the cargo bay to a subdued but eager group of Ambassadors ready to look at what they had seen. And the cargo hold opening up and Asuka's leaving the bay.

The Ambassadors really didn't know who to demand answers from first.

Sheridan moved quickly with Delenn to the hatch as Asuka moved over to her mother.

"You alright kid?" Sarah asked quietly.

"I want to go home, please?" Asuka asked, already too mentally exhausted to deal with much more that night.

"Yeah, we'll go home now. Chief, I'm going to take Asuka home now," Sarah told Garibaldi.

"Yeah, I'll send Zach with you as an escort. That way he can keep the Ambassadors and their aides at bay. Contact me tomorrow morning."

"Thanks Chief."

They made their way out of the area as Sheridan and Delenn diverted the attention of the assembled Ambassadors to the hatch.

All Asuka could think about was the glowing eyes that had been staring at her not too long ago.

--

The commotion had died down after those ambassadors so inclined had seen the Eva, although briefly, and had gone to their quarters to report to their peoples on the situation. Londo and G'Kar had spent more time then most, looking it over from every angle they could. When Londo left, he was mumbling that the thing was looking at him.

Sheridan watched the last of the ambassadors file out and turned to look at the beast himself. As he stepped forward, noticed that Kosh was still there, looking at the Eva as well. They both stood there in silence, studying the new arrival.

"It's come a long, long way." Sheridan sighed to himself.

"Yes," the Vorlon replied unexpectedly.

Sheridan looked at the enigmatic ambassador for a minute. "So, what do you think of this? Why now? Why here and not Earth?"

Kosh was silent for a bit, considering. "Wait."

"Wait, huh? I guess that's as good as any of us can do for the moment." Sheridan said with a chuckle. "Never a dull moment."

"No," Kosh said, as he turned and left.

The Eva rested. The trip had taken more out of her then had been expected. But she was patient. She had waited this long, what was a little longer.

--

Sarah and Asuka entered their quarters, and after biding Zach good night Sarah turned to her now infamous daughter.

"Well, I'm not going to point out that you were supposed to stay here. What I want to know is how in the Hell you got yourself in the same area as Ambassador Kosh? He doesn't usually care to associate with anyone outside of the Council."

Asuka sat on the couch, still trying to calm down. It had been a very difficult few hours for her, and even her mother's wrath would be welcome to get her mind off that thing in the cargo bay. So she told her mother about the crawl through the vents, and how she had just happened to pop out where the ambassador had been walking. It had been the oddest time for her. No one, except maybe the Captain, had ever been that close to the Vorlon outside the council chambers.

"Just like your father. He would do some of the craziest things too I swear. At least you're safe, that is all I care about. Just don't think this is going to be easy for you or anyone else," She said.

"What do you think is going to happen next?" Asuka asked, her voice was almost a whisper.

Sarah collapsed into one of the chairs facing her daughter, suddenly feeling very exhausted, "I have no idea. I'm supposed to meet with the Advisory council to work out some things. I don't like the idea of having to speak to that arrogant ass Mollari. At least the Captain will be there to keep order."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left," Asuka said, almost in tears.

Sarah moved over to the couch and pulled her daughter into a tight hug, "Hey, it's not your fault. You didn't know this thing was going to home in on you like some love sick Narn. I just wish I knew WHY it did that."

The last words she heard from her daughter before the fatigue had pulled the child to sleep made her shudder.

"It came from my nightmares."

To Be Continued...

Author's notes: Well, here comes the second installment. More Eva, more mysteries revealed, and more questions asked yet very few answered.

At least that was the intent.

We'll see what happens as we get into Chapter 3 of Forgotten Warriors.

C&C always welcome and wanted.

Pre-readers: RagnarokZ, SDB

Revision Notes: I was never really pleased with how fast the identity of the Evangelion and a lot of the secrets of the Eva were reveled. So I've gone back through chapter 1 and here in order to add more mystery and more odds and ends. The identify of the Child is sort of needed for this chapter. I've kept a lot of what her and Kosh do the same. I've also tried editing up and making Mollari more in character after re-watching Season 2. Honestly, there have been a few times in this fic I've thought of editing it up a bit more and changing seasons. If not having it during the Narn – Centuari war, then at least at a point where I could add Marcus in here. Depending on how far I went I could use Lita instead of Talya. Right now though, this seems more fitting what with the air of things during that time frame. Also, I felt a scene was needed between mother and daughter. Honestly, I'm not too sure if I should have the Soryu bloodline be on her side or the absent fathers side. I'll keep thinking on it.


	3. Rebirth

Forgotten Warriors

Chapter 3: Rebirth

An Evangelion/Babylon 5 crossover

By: Lord Legato Deathscythe and Isamu

Disclaimer: See part 1

She looked over the deck of the carrier, ocean winds stirring her hair as the VOTL set down. She walked over to it, recognizing the purple haired woman getting out, but not the three boys her own age that accompanied her. One of them is the Third then.

She was in a galley, sitting with the woman and her three charges, one was the pilot. The man was there too, only problem was he was paying more attention to the purple haired woman then her. She locked her eyes on the other pilot, the Third. "Come with me," she said, and dragging him from the room.

They were on another ship now, and walking over a bridge spanning the purplish fluid in the cargo hold that led to a red armored behemoth. She looked with pride, and a little bit of insane affection, towards this object. She turned to the boy, Shinji, and proclaimed, "This is the first real Evangelion Unit, actually built for combat! Eva Unit 02." Asuka was still smirking when the ship jarred, waking her.

Asuka sat bolt upright in bed, trembling and breathing heavily.

"Just a dream. Just a dream..." she whispered to herself. She looked at the clock. It was only a quarter to four in the morning. She sighed and lay back down. Sleep did not soon claim her. When it did, images of the red monster began to fade, but the name Shinji continued echoing though her mind.

--

"So we haven't been able to find out anything about it?"

It was early the next morning, and Captain Sheridan had hoped that the technical and scientific crews would have made short work of this piece of technology from Earth's past.

He did not expect the difficulty that the crews had encountered though. Sporadic equipment malfunctions caused by the Evangelion's energy field had made analysis beyond the armor layer almost impossible. They had been able to analyze a sample of the armor to determine its makeup, but more scans of the machine had not produced much in the way of results.

"What have you been able to figure out about its weapon; that lance?" Sheridan asked.

"Not much sir. We haven't been able to gain any sort of usable sample for analysis. Nor have we really been able to get a good scan of the internal structure. I'm going to speak with Doctor Franklin about getting one of the heavy medical scanners to do a scan. That should allow us a relatively usable image of the Eva's super structure," answered Chief Torres.

"Alright, do what you can. I'll call for a meeting of the Council in ten hours and then you can brief them on what you've been able to figure out."

After Chief Torres was dismissed, the room briefly fell into silence as Sheridan and Ivannova considered the report they had just heard.

Sheridan broke the silence after a moment, "I love a good mystery as much as the next man, but this is getting ridiculous."

"I don't understand how Earth could have created something like this. We don't even have the technology to build something like this now, and we've come a long way in the past two hundred years."

"I know, and that is what's troubling me."

Before Sheridan could say anything else they were interrupted by the sound of the Captains link.

"Sir, we just received a request for clearance to dock for a Psi-Corp shuttle."

The hair on the back of Ivannova neck began to stand on end.

"What would Psi-Corp send a person here for?" she asked.

"I can guess," Sheridan said, looking down at the pictures of Unit 01, before he and Ivannova went to great whoever had been on that shuttle.

--

Sheridan and Ivannova got to the landing bay that the Psi-Corp ship had been docked at just in time to hear Bester's all too cheery voice call out, "Ahh, Captain, commander. How are you both doing?"

Sheridan heard Ivannova mumble "Fine until you showed up," and he quickly hushed her. "We're doing fine Bester, but to what do we owe a visit from Psi-Corp?"

Bester looked taken aback by the captains comment and said, "Why Captain, you mean Earth Dome can't send me here just out of curiosity as to how you're doing? Out of a sense of concern for the well being of our fellows? I'm hurt," the telepath finished smugly.

Sheridan plastered the most sincerely insincere smile he could on his face when he answered, "Some how, I doubt it. Now really, why are you here?"

Bester shrugged. "You always have to make this difficult, like we're on two different teams or something. You are correct, I am here for a fairly specific purpose. Now, how is our guest from the past doing?"

"Hmmm," Sheridan intoned with a nod, "I kind of thought as much. But why did they send a telepath? This is a machine, your telepathic abilities are pretty useless here."

"We'll just have to see I guess. Now, can you take me to where it's stored? I can barely contain my excitement at seeing this. My daughter is a big fan of giant robot stories, and she'll be thrilled to hear about this. And, before you raise any complaints about my clearance levels, or mission briefing, or any of the other little formalities, here are my marching orders as they were."

Bester handed Sheridan a sheet that did indeed grant Bester official and high up permission to inspect and use his talents to help in the investigation of the Evangelion.

After he finished reading them, he looked up at the smugly grinning Bester and with a politicians smile said, "Right this way then."

--

Sheridan escorted the grinning Psi-Cop to the hanger where the Eva had docked itself with a mixed feeling of unease and curiosity. Why would Earth send a Psi-Cop? While he had expected an Earth dome representative, he had thought it would be a general or admiral, some of the higher up military brass here to inspect the new toy that had just been dropped into their laps.

Instead, he got Bester.

He caught Ivannova eye and all she could do was make a confused face at him with a little shrug. Bester was walking a step or two ahead of them, and seemed to know where he was going. That he knew almost precisely where to go was a fact that really unsettled Sheridan.

Bester began asking questions about what the other races thought of the situation. What the Narn and Centauri thought of this turn of events, as well as the Minbari? Sheridan answered the questions as best he could, but was all in all relieved when they finally arrived.

The bay had been somewhat converted since the night before. Hastily erected scaffolding had been built around the Evangelion, and tech crews were moving about it trying to get samples, measurements, or set up some of the larger medical scanners that Med lab had been able to sent over. They were pretty impressive. For a moment Sheridan wondered why med lab was even equipped with anything that large. He'd make a note of asking Dr. Franklin about it later.

Bester turned and looked quizzically at him after a few minutes of studying the scene himself and said, "Captain, while it's really not my place to say anything, it looks like these men have been in a bar fight recently? One would expect better discipline really."

Sheridan blinked and took another look around. Sure enough, almost ever tech there was sporting black eyes, tears in their uniforms, or some other sign of a struggle. He tuned and looked at Ivannova who simply shrugged her shoulders nervously.

"I asked, they said they kept having minor accidents around the thing. Tripping over gear, wires coming lose, stuff like that. They seemed pretty evasive about it too," she said. Much more softly she added "Some of them are starting to say it's cursed."

Sheridan turned back to ask Bester what he planned on doing next, but saw that the he was already doing just that. The Psi-Cop was walking towards the Eva taking off his gloves. Sheridan could almost see the smug expression that would be painting the other side of his head as he continued his purposeful stride.

Then, suddenly he tripped.

Every one stopped, staring at the imposing Psi-Cop lying flat on his face having tripped on the even clear surface of that part of the hanger bay. Bester was only there a moment before he picked himself up, brushed the arms of his uniform jacket almost absently, and continued forward again. This time it was a conspicuous surge of power that suddenly arched out in front of him that caused him to throw himself back, again losing his balance and landing on his ass. He blinked at the Eva, and then started to question the techs gathered there, in a rather loud and agitated voice, about what sort of badly insulated devices they were using.

Bester continued to try for nearly a half hour, with more unexplainable accidents befalling him every time he tried to approach the robot. It was during one of these less then successful attempts that Asuka cautiously entered the bay. Both Sheridan and Ivannova noticed her when she came in, although Bester was to intent on the Eva. Before Sheridan could even think about it Ivannova had taken the girl aside quietly to the corner of the bay indicating that she should stay quite. Once she was there, Sheridan walked over to where a now slightly bedraggled Bester was standing.

"Listen, Bester, you look awfully tired, I'm sure the trip from Earth took a lot out of you. Maybe you should get some rest and then try again in a few hours, when you're, well, more rested."

Bester glared at him at this point, before grudgingly nodding to him. "You're right captain. I could use some rest and a chance to freshen up. If your people find anything I expect to be made aware of it."

"Of course, if the techs find anything out I'll make sure you're informed."

Bester looked at him quizzically as the captain called a security officer over to lead him to a room. Bester looked like he was about to add something, then he thought the better of it and simply followed the officer out of the hanger, obviously somewhat relieved to be able to leave with his some of his dignity intact.

Once Bester had left the cargo bay, Sheridan moved quickly over to where Ivannova had secreted Asuka. They both were silently watching the Eva, waiting for Bester to leave. Sheridan joined them in watching the Eva while he contemplated tearing into the girl. Her timing had nearly been disastrous.

"You mind telling me what brought you down here?" the Captain asked.

"Kosh called, told me to meet him down here. He didn't say much, just said to go to Eva. No reason, no explanation, just to come here."

Ivannova had a "sounds like Kosh" look on her face. It was all the captain could do not to throw his hands in the air.

"So I suppose you should just stick around here and not get too close to the Eva. You could get hurt, there is a lot of heavy machinery around here and the Eva has been giving the maintenance crew a hard time all night. Out of curiosity, did Ambassador Kosh say why he wanted you down here?"

Asuka's brow creased as she thought, "I asked about that, he only said one word. Rebirth."

Sheridan and Ivannova nodded and left Asuka to watch the Eva.

--

The command staff had gathered in one of the meeting rooms on blue level. Sheridan, the most visibly upset of the four, was pacing back and forth while Ivannova, Garibaldi, and Dr. Franklin sat at the table. The captains ill humor was spreading to the others there, edging out from him like some the radiation of some fidgety star.

"For God's sake Captain, please, sit down!" Susan finally said, half standing and glaring at him.

"Yeah, I'm even getting a little twitchy with you pacing back and forth like that," Garibaldi added.

"Listen, it won't do you, or any of us, any good for you to be wound up when Bester gets here, just, calm down," the doctor added.

"Fine, but I do so under protest," Sheridan said as he sat down at the head of the table, and began to move some papers there back and forth. Susan rolled her eyes and swore softly in Russian.

"Good, now that settled. Next topic, what are we going to do about Bester? We can't have a Psi-Cop nosing around here, and no way are they gonna touch Langley's kid," Garibaldi said.

"He's not going to. We won't let him know," Sheridan said. "Now, we didn't have enough time to really do much in the way of countermeasures for him probing us, and I don't want Ms. Winters here, too many awkward questions. So, we're just going to have to hope in Bester being just professional enough to not do more then a surface scan, which we all know he's going to be doing, and keep our minds off you know what."

"I don't like it," Garibaldi said.

"Don't like what, Mr. Garibaldi?" Bester said as he strode confidently into the room. He then tisked, and a fawned look of hurt crossed his face. "Well, look at this, I don't even have to be a telepath to know I'm not welcome here. Please now, we're all here for the same reason: to try and find out what our guest out there has been up to these past few hundred years, and to find out how it got all the way out here."

"Our guest?" Ivannova asked, indignation creeping into her voice. "How is she our guest?"

"'She' is _our_ guest in that 'she' is a guest of Earth Force, of which we all are a part, are we not?" Bester said with a sicken pleasantness. "Now, what can you tell me about _her_ Captain. Bring me up to speed on things here."

Sheridan glared at the Psi-Cop, then started into his carefully prepared speech. "Well, the most obvious first, its physical qualities and dimensions."

Bester sighed inside as the Sheridan began to recite off the most basic of observed facts about the Eva. It was information he already had; in spades. It had taken some time, but Earth Dome had been able to dredge up some fairly accurate physical details on the Eva project, as well as some various notes from people involved. Most of it was from a Dr. Akagi, one of the chief researchers as well as some from the projects tactical commander, a Misato Katsuragi. However, he had only been given a little of both while the science groups and think tanks back home mulled over the rest. He guessed Sheridan knew at least as much as he did, maybe even a little more. This irritated him to no end.

As the captain continued on, going over what they presumed to be the Eva's flight path, Bester did a surface scan on each person in the room. Dr. Franklin seemed to be going over some of the biological data that he'd been sent from Earth Dome on the Eva, but his thoughts were well guarded, especially for a baseline. But then again, they always were. So he moved to the next.

Garibaldi, like every other time he'd visited, was boiling over with anger, all directed at him. A muddled mess, but there was something flitting in and out from time to time, a name, or maybe a face. When he focused in on that ever so gently, he got the image of an attractive red head. He did have good taste from time to time.

Captain Sheridan, as always, was a tangle of thoughts and emotions. It was hard to get very far in on this level of basic surface scan, but most of it seemed to be concerned with Eva. Yes, things he was holding back. Ambassadors meeting about it, interest by many parties, even, yes, Kosh. That the Vorlon was interested almost made Bester start, but he was able to control himself as the Captain continued on to the subject of the Eva's weapon without missing a beat.

He quickly shifted over to Ivannova, not wanting to give himself away just yet. Her thoughts were the most guarded of the lot, he sometimes suspected that she was a latent telepath of some sort, especially considering her mothers power, but he'd never pushed the subject. She was too old and probably far too weak to be of any use to him, or the Corp at this point. He touched gently, and, as he expected, found very little. It was time to push some buttons.

He waited until the captain was pausing between breaking points in his notes before he started in.

"Yes Captain, that's all very interesting, but I've seen as much myself in the notes Earth Dome has been able to uncover on this particular project. I'd like something tangible to bring back with me to the President. For example, how are the Narn and Centauri taking this? Sentiment back home is that we don't want to get involved in anymore alien wars, so if this has the potential to drag us in, the President wants to know."

Bester watched as the four of them exchanged guarded looks, and smirked. "Well," Sheridan began after a slight pause, "ambassador Mollari and G'Kar are going to be meeting with me in private later today to discuss this, try to smooth out any of the issues. I've already been prepped by Earth Dome with what action we're willing to take on it at this point. I'm confident that we won't become involved in their war because of this incident."

"Good, I'm glad to hear that. Now, what else do you have for me. Ivannova, you refereed to it as a she, didn't you? Why she? It doesn't look particularly maternal to me," Bester said, quickly changing attack angles, and again performing surface scans.

"Well, I don't know. It just kinda felt like the right thing to call her. Does it matter?" she answered hesitantly.

"No, just idle curiosity," Bester replied with a smug grin. He was getting closer now, it was floating to the surface of their thoughts. But what? "Now, besides from the maintenance crews and ambassadors G'Kar and Mollari, has anyone else had contact with the Evangelion?"

"Well, some of the other ambassadors, and members of my security detail have been inside, but not too close to it. We're being careful to keep them back," Garibaldi said, all business.

Bester picked it out that time, from Garibaldi's mind. The Vorlon was interested in it and had gone to see it, and with someone else to boot.

"That's all? Good job Captain, you and your crew should be complimented for keeping this situation so well in hand. I'll make sure I include that in my reports," Bester said cheerily. "If there's nothing else then, I have some other business to attend to. Some people I need to see. A certain red haired friend that happens to be passing though. It'll be nice to catch up with her," Bester said, taking a gamble on either flaring Garibaldi's paranoia or jarring something else loose. He grinned as one last surface scan showed it was a risk well taken. "Please see that I get a report of what happens at the meeting this afternoon and I'd like another chance to examine the Evangelion either later today or tomorrow. Good day," Bester said with a grin as he walked out the door. He had a face and a name.

"I'm glad that's over," Franklin said with a sigh.

"No, it's not," Ivannova said.

"Why not," Garibaldi said, annoyance at Bester's last comment creeping into his voice.

"He knows about Asuka," she said.

"Dammit!" Garibaldi said as he got up quickly, he was walking out the office as he hit the com button on his link. "Garibaldi to Allen! Zack, get down to the holding area and keep an eye on Asuka, Bester may be heading your way. I'm going to swing by Soryu's quarters and we will meet you down there."

As Garibaldi stormed out, The remaining three people stood and began to move

--

A few hours had past since she had entered the bay, after a while one of the technicians had set a few crates near her so she wouldn't have to stand the whole time. So Asuka just sat there and watched the technicians scurry about the behemoth trying to find out all they could about this ghost from Earth. As time passed she fell into a light sleep, leaning her head against a bulkhead as the workers continued on.

In her dream she was standing on a catwalk, staring the Evangelion in the eye. This dream though was different from the rest. In all the other dreams it had been as if she was watching things through someone else's eyes. Here, she was herself.

She heard something to her right and turned. There she saw the albino girl she had seen before in her dreams. The girl was wearing some skin tight outfit that was all white. It also had numbers on it, a simple "00" just above the girls breasts.

When Asuka looked down at herself she saw she was wearing a similar garb, only in red with "02" on it. She kept looking around, seeing that she was no longer anywhere on Babylon 5. She was in some launching area, cold gray metal along all sides and some windows along the top showing some control area.

"You are the second." The girl said.

Behind her an older woman stood. She wore a short black dress with a red jacket over it. Her face was defiantly Asian, possibly from one of the main islands of Japan. Her hair was a dark violet, and her brown eyes looked at Asuka almost as if this woman felt that she was Asuka's mother.

"The two who stood alone wish to stand together," she said. What did that mean?

"He will come," said another voice. This had been the voice of an older man, who now stood in what Asuka had thought was a control area. Just looking at him unsettled her. He had what her mother had called a face of stone. Nothing but hardship had been known by that brow. There was also something sinister about the way he looked at her. The beard and sunglasses hid much of his face from her.

"Who?" Asuka asked.

"The Third," again the albino girl.

Asuka sat up with a start as she was shaken awake. She wiped the sleep away from her eyes and looked up at who had brought her from the dream. It was just Zack.

"You doin' alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, just nodded off for a bit. Haven't been sleeping well lately," she said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't think anyone has had a decent nights sleep for a while around here," Zack said.

Asuka caught a glimpse of the Night Watch band Zack had been wearing of late. She didn't understand what that was all about. Seemed to her that it was just a way for him to make an extra few credits a week. At least that was how he always said it was. Some how Asuka got the feeling he wasn't too thrilled with what was asked of him by them a lot of the time.

"Do you ever feel as if you've walked into something bigger then you could possibly imagine?" Asuka asked him.

"All the time. Listen, the chief sent me down here to keep an eye on you. We got a Psi-cop on board and he's not exactly known for his adherence to Psi-corps rules," Zack said. Bester just being on board was enough to make him nervous.

"A Psi-Cop? What, is this thing some kind of really big rouge telepath?" Asuka joked, trying to lighten the moment.

Zack chuckled, "I don't know, but he's probably headed back down here so keep your guard up."

Asuka's gaze drifted back to the Evangelion, "Honestly Zack, right now I'd take any help trying to figure out what's going on. Even if it's a Psi-Cop, it could help me figure out what this thing is."

"It's just a robot though, right?" Zack asked, kind of spooked by how she was talking.

"I wish I could be that sure."

--

Sarah Soryu had just gotten back from the post office. It seemed that Grandmother Soryu had decided to send a few boxes from back home. And from the look of them, they came from the family storage area. She had just had enough time to set them down when the door chime went off.

"Come on in," she called out. In came a man she didn't recognize, but she did recognize the black uniform and the ever present badge on the collar. Psi-cops weren't known for their subtlety.

"Mrs. Soryu I presume?" he asked.

"You're a telepath, you tell me," she said, a smirk playing on her lips.

Bester chuckled, "I like you. The names Bester, I wanted to talk to you about the situation you've found yourself in."

Sarah felt her defenses going up at the mention of the Evangelion. She was especially on guard because she knew he was a telepath. She wouldn't be able to even think of the situation if she wanted to be safe. That was when the door chimed again, and she could almost swear she saw Bester swearing under his breath.

"Come in," Sarah said, grateful for the save.

Garibaldi walked in, himself looking annoyed when he saw he had been beaten there by the smug Psi-cop. Garibaldi just grumbled, "I was coming by to check in, see how things were going. Looks like you could use an exterminator for the rats crawling around in here."

The last was said pointed directly at Bester. The Psi-Cop knew he wouldn't be able to get much from her with Garibaldi there. So he just kept his senses open, prodding where he could. Right now all he wanted was more information, he couldn't decide what to do without knowing more.

"I suppose I should start off then, so as not to waste anyones time. I would like to know how a simple security officer got herself into the middle of a serious diplomatic situation. I'd also like to know how you seem to be connected to the Evangelion," Bester asked, all business now. He had asked the questions, knowing that she would either think the truth or if he was lucky just blurt it out.

"Bester, I don't think you have the authority to ask those questions. I'm not a telepath, so that makes this outside your jurisdiction," Sarah replied, keeping her thoughts focused on one single image.

Bester choked slightly, stunning Garibaldi. The usually unshakable Psi-cop was actually showing a break in his cold exterior. Then the chief noticed the sadistic looking grin on his officers face. He didn't know what she was thinking, but just looking at it started creeping him out.

Bester straightened himself out, and then moved to the door, "I think I'll come back later, then we can have a civilized conversation without anyone interfering."

Sarah smirked, "Sorry, but my calender has been pretty booked up just recently. You are going to have to take a number, and get in line behind all the other people who want to talk to me about this for right now. If I have the time, well I'll see if I can squeeze you in."

Bester smiled, and then tipped his fingers in a sort of mocking salute, "Be seeing you."

After Bester had left Garibaldi had to know what she had done, "What was on your mind that got him so flustered? I've never seen him taken down like that."

Sarah smirked at the chief, "Oh not much, just a situation involving him, me, and a forty pound sledgehammer."

Garibaldi just laughed, "I'd pay to see that. I was hoping to cut the little leech off before he got here."

"What about Asuka?" Sarah asked, concerned.

"I sent Zack down to keep an eye on her just in case. Speaking of which, how's she holding up?"

Sarah moved over to the couch next to the boxes and sat down, putting her head in her hands. She looked like she herself hadn't really had much sleep lately, which wasn't a shock really. She collected her thoughts and then said, "Not good. She's become withdrawn, bottled up. She actually told me that this thing had come from her nightmares. I haven't seen it myself, but that worries me. She's always had problems with nightmares, but I can't see why she would say this had come from one."

"Well, I have seen it. If it came from anywhere, a nightmare is as good a place as any," Garibaldi said. He glanced at the boxes sitting on the floor and asked, "What's in those?"

Sarah was thankful for the change of subject, "I don't know yet. My mother sent them, and they look like they've been in the storage unit back home for years. I was just about to open them when Bester showed up. I haven't even read the letter that came with it."

Sarah picked up the small envelope and opened it. She read the letter and then looked confused, "What the..."

Garibaldi moved beside her, "What?"

"She says it has to do with the Evangelion, she also says I shouldn't open it without Asuka. I don't get this, how would we have anything that related to this thing?"

She then started to move to the boxes. She pulled the seal off the top one and made to open it, muttering while she did, "Sorry old woman, but I don' have the time to follow your crazy instructions."

"I take it you don't get along well with her?"

"She's always been a bit eccentric, Richard just loved her. Hell, he couldn't keep from doing one crazy thing or another himself," Sarah said. She just stopped for a bit at that.

"What happened to him?" Garibaldi asked.

"He died during the war with the Minbari. Asuka was only three at the time, and we were trying to escape Earth with the rest, but he stayed. He told me before he went off that he knew he was going to die, but at least it would give the two of us a chance to escape. I wanted him to come with us, but I knew there was no convincing him otherwise. That was the last time I saw him. He died trying to protect us," Sarah said. She was fighting back tears when the chief's hand came to rest on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

"Well, time to see what's so damned important in these boxes." Sarah said, cracking them open. Later, she wished she had never heard about anything related to Evangelions.

--

Sheridan had been on the gold channel with the Joint Chief's and several senators for the better part of an hour bringing them up to speed on the situation. General Hague himself had stated the importance of keeping this out of the hands of the other governments. John felt a high level visit from Earth Dome was certainly in the future for him and Babylon 5. He also knew that the general wanted to keep this weapon out of the hands of President Clark. That would just give him another card to play when the time was right.

He was sitting in the garden, just taking a short amount of time to rest from the hassle of the day. He often came here to take a time out from the everyday grind or whatever current crisis came up. Sometimes he even had some conversations with Ambassador Delenn, those had been interesting at times. With the current crisis Sheridan could use some of the Minbari's wisdom as he walked this tight rope.

As he thought that the aforementioned Minbari walked into the garden.

"Ambassador," he greeted.

"Captain Sheridan, I was hoping to find you here. G'Kar and Londo are both wanting to arrange a meeting between them and Asuka's mother. G'Kar has requested that you and I both be present during the meeting."

"I wouldn't have it any other way. This incident has made relations between Earth and most of the other worlds tense," he said. He was tense though, Delenn could see it.

"There's something else on your mind besides diplomatic relations," she said. The tone of her voice when she spoke like that always made Sheridan feel like Delenn was less an ambassador and more a councilor.

"I was just thinking. It seems wrong for a kid to be entangled by something like this. She shouldn't have to be worried about diplomacy or some two hundred year old beast," he said.

"You were yourself the son of a diplomat," Delenn said.

"That's different, I knew what to expect. I wasn't just going to school or trying to catch up in my studies. My dad always said that developing a good relationship between governments depended not just on what we said in private, but what we did in public. So far all this girl has done in public has been see this thing and be around Kosh. I think the fact the Vorlon has taken an interest in her is what's really driving a lot of this," John said. He chuckled for a moment then said, "If I didn't know better, I'd think Londo and G'Kar are a bit jealous that Kosh had taken more interest in Asuka in the last twenty-four hours then he ever has in their war."

Delenn smiled, "You could be right. For now though, we should concern ourselves with how best to serve Asuka, and how best to provide her with a chance to grow beyond this."

Sheridan was about to answer when his link went off, "Sheridan."

Ivannova answered, "Captain, we're detecting a power spike from the Evangelion."

--

Asuka was just watching the Eva now. Most of the work detail had taken a break in order to get some rest. It had been decided that for now there was no other data they could get from the Eva, and everyone needed a chance to eat and catch some sleep. Zack had stuck around, just keeping her company. Asuka was thankful for that, Zack wasn't exactly that bad looking. He had also made her laugh a few times while they had talked.

But something was pulling her attention to the Evangelion. For a moment, she could have sworn it was looking directly at her. It felt as if it were calling to her somehow, wanting her to come near. She hadn't even noticed she had started walking towards it.

"Hey, careful that things been shocking the techs all day," Zack said, trying to stop her. He was stopped however by an orange hexagonal field stopping him.

"What the Hell?" he said, trying to get around it, but every time he tried another one just popped up.

Kosh had just walked into the bay and calmly surveyed the scene. He was not worried as he watched Asuka walk towards the scaffolding leading to the top of the Eva. His exhaled breath from his encounter suit drew Zack's attention.

"She is ready," Kosh said through the translator.

"For what?" Zack asked.

"Rebirth," was all that Kosh said before he looked upwards.

Asuka had made it as close to where the Entry Plug was as anyone had been able to go. The walkway she was on ended there, so if the plug had ejected it would be within easy reach. She didn't know what was coming, but her instincts screamed for her to be in that spot.

"Allen to C and C," Zack said into his link.

Commander Ivonnova's voice answered, "Go ahead."

"I'm in cargo bay 4. Asuka's walked up to one of the walkways near the top of the Eva. I can't get to her."

"What do you mean you can't get to her? And what's she doing up there? No one's been able to get that close," Ivonnova asked. Zack could hear the aggravation in her voice.

"Every time I try to get close enough some energy field pushes me back."

"Hold tight, the Captain and Mr. Garibaldi are both on their way down there. Keep trying Zack, we're picking up a major energy spike from that thing," she told him. Her voice carried the urgency and seriousness of the situation.

"I'll try. Tell the captain that Ambassador Kosh is down here too."

"Why am I not surprised. C and C out."

Zack continued to try to get past the energy field, trying to get up to Asuka. If something happened to her he wouldn't forgive himself.

--

Talia was walking through the Zocolo, on her way to a relativity simple meeting between business men. It was nothing spectacular, just a normal meeting with a normal commission so that they could make sure everything was on the up and up. Just another mundane day for a registered telepath.

Suddenly she felt a presence in her thoughts. A very human, and very unpleasant presence. The sort of telepathic intrusion only a Psi-Cop would perform. Then a few words and a voice were in her head, nothing menacing just asking to talk with her.

"Mr. Bester, what brings you out here?" Talia asked verbally.

"I was in the area when this beast came knocking on Babylon 5's door," Bester said. Walking up beside her as she continued her shopping.

"Seems everyone's interested, it's been the talk of the station for the last few days."

"Yes. I actually had a chance to see it today," Bester said.

Talia smiled, "I heard about that. Honestly though I can't say I'm as interested in this sort of thing."

Bester just continued to smile, "You aren't interested in a piece of Earth history? Something dating back to a more simpler time, before man had even taken to the stars?"

Talia turned to Bester and looked him over, "Mr. Bester, you didn't come to me to just talk about this thing did you?"

Bester just smirked, "Actually I was wanting to talk to you about it. I was wondering, have you felt anything strange since it came on board?"

Talia thought back for a bit, "No, nothing strange. Everyone on the station was understandably tense, nothing out of the ordinary. Why? It's some robot from what I've heard, and robots don't have thoughts to pick up."

Suddenly something broke through the walls she had in her mind to keep the voices out. It was powerful, and overwhelming. It felt as if something was screaming in her mind, the kind of scream that ran straight through your soul. It almost overloaded her mind, but she was able to pull herself together. A look to Bester told her he had heard it as well.

Bester recovered, "I guess that answers that. I have to be going Ms. Winters, I'll talk with you more about this later."

Bester moved and started making his way back to the cargo bay. Talia was still shaken, but she knew she had to tell someone about this. She headed straight to a com station to notify the captain.

--

At first she'd been, well, responsive. If you'd call insulting him and telling him to get back to work responsive, but the spark had been there. That's what counted, what had always counted. Her fire. But then she just... lost it. It was lonely here now, without her or someone to talk to.

He looked over at the strangely lethargic red-head, the girl around which his feelings twisted and noted in both wonderful and frightening ways. But for some reason she was gone now. He wished he knew why...

The night was falling, it would be getting colder soon. The night was always cold, without any light or warm wind to keep the chill away. So he gathered what wood he could and built his fire for the night. After it was lit and burning, he pulled a small blanket over his companion. She may not have been moving, but she was still alive. He could only hope he could keep her alive long enough for someone to find them, if anyone else was still in this world.

As he did, he did not notice the two ghostly figures watching him. The specter of another young girl he had known, and the intimidating visage of the Vorlon known as Kosh.

"This has been his world for two-hundred and fifty years. He doesn't know it's been that long though, for him only days have passed," Rei told the Vorlon.

The sound of Kosh's melodic voice was heard then translated, "The girl?"

"It is only an after image of the Second's soul. A perception, her soul does not reside in this place as his does. It could not, for it was not her destiny to be here."

Kosh felt something in his mind, "And so it begins, again."

--

Alarms had started going off all over the place. The energy being generated by the Evangelion had continued to build from the initial power spike. Technicians and security officers had begun running to their stations knowing there was probably nothing they could do. Garibaldi and Sarah had joined Zack in the cargo bay, all three unable to get past the Eva's energy field and up to Asuka. All they could do was watch her as she just stood there watching the beast.

Sheridan and Delenn entered the cargo bay, Delenn moving over to where Kosh was. She asked him, "Do you know what is happening?"

All the Vorlon would say was, "A new beginning."

Sheridan went to where the other officers were, "Status?"

Garibaldi answered, "Asuka walked up there all on her own. Zack tried to follow but then this damned barrier came up. It's like the Eva doesn't WANT us to get too close to it or to Asuka."

Sheridan looked up to where the girl was, "What's she doing up there, Zack?"

"I don't know captain, we were just talking then she got up and started walking to it. I tried to stop her but then this thing came up."

A rumble was felt through the deck then, almost knocking everyone from their feet. A part of the bulkhead buckled and began to fall. Sarah watched in horror as the piece of the station fell directly towards her daughter.

"ASUKA!" she screamed.

Asuka looked up and saw it headed towards her. She pulled her arms over her head as if that would protect her. Sarah could only watch as she saw her daughter's death before her eyes.

It never came though.

The Evangelion's arm had shot up and it's hand protected Asuka. The bulkhead bounced off the metal armor of the beasts fingers, leaving everyone shocked and awed as the Evangelion's arm moved back down to where it had been.

It was then that the deck stopped rumbling, and the Evangelion bowed it's head. A panel on the back opened and slide backwards, allowing the entry plug to eject from the beasts back. Liquid began shooting out of the plug, discharging some kind of orange fluid along the cargo bay. Sheridan couldn't help but recognize the smell of blood.

It was quiet all of the sudden, as if everyone was holding their breath afraid to wake the monster yet again. Sheridan tapped the com on his link, "Ivonnova, status."

"The Eva's power levels are beginning to drop back down to what we have been monitoring. Whatever it did, it used a lot of power doing it," Ivonnova reported.

"Alright, keep an eye on it's power output. If it starts building again I want to know about it."

Garibaldi moved forward and tried to see if the energy field was still up. When his hand wasn't stopped by the energy field he moved forward, followed by Sarah, Zack and Sheridan up to the walkway. The hatch to the entry plug had opened, leading into a poorly lit cockpit. Asuka started moving in to explore the inside of this thing. She gasped at what she found.

Everyone looked inside the entry plug and saw the same thing. Sheridan immediately activated his link, "Sheridan to Medlab. Medical emergency to cargo bay four. I repeat, medical emergency in cargo bay four."

After the doctor had acknowledged the request Sheridan returned his attention to the scene before him. He didn't know what to think about what had just happened or what he saw before him.

Sitting in the pilots seat was a naked fourteen year old boy.

To Be Continued...

Authors Notes: Well, this one has been a long time coming. Sorry for the delay, however I've had some major distractions over the past several months to include the revamping of DS, moving yet again, PCS'ing to a new base, and a three month stint in the Middle East. What I wanted to do in this chapter was to get a bit more of the feel of Babylon 5 itself. This is just as much a B5 fic as it is an Evangelion Fic. The difficulty in any crossover is getting an acceptable mixing of the two stories. That's especially difficult when the main story occurs in one setting predominantly. However you can't do a good crossover without a decent setting. And Babylon 5 itself, the station not the series, is the primary setting for this story.

Next Chapter: More questions are asked as the crew tries to discover the identity of the young boy from the Evangelion. But as few answers are to be found, and with Bester snooping around, Sheridan must try to hold things together between Earth and the rest of the Galaxy.

While the boy sleeps, Asuka and her mother make some discoveries of their families past. Old ghosts are revealed, and a hidden legacy uncovered as they discover their link to the mysterious boy in medlab. But all of this is a prelude to something more, as Kosh begins to act on behalf of the boy.

Next Chapter: In the Shadow of NERV

Later.


	4. In the Shadow of NERV

Forgotten Warriors

Chapter 4: In the Shadow of NERV

An Evangelion/Babylon 5 Crossover

By: Lord Legato Deathscythe and Isamu

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Sheridan had followed the trauma team from the cargo bay all the way to medlab, Garibaldi close on his heels. Asuka and Kosh also followed at a distance, with Sarah at her daughters side. After they got to medlab the boy was pulled into the isolab so that Dr. Franklin could do a proper examination. Sarah just looked the boy over, something about him kept gnawing at her. There was something she didn't like, but the elder Soryu couldn't put her finger on it.

Asuka however felt differently then her mother. She knew this boy, that much the young woman was certain of. Every line, every curve of his face was familiar to her. He wasn't a stranger to her, but she couldn't place her finger on it. But she knew she had to be near him when he awoke, if he did.

"This doesn't make sense, every scan we had said there wasn't anyone on board that thing," Micheal said.

"The scans we had were inconclusive, we couldn't make out anything from all the interference from that things shield. I'm just as stumped as you are," Sheridan said.

"Perhaps these will help us figure something out," an annoying voice said. Everyone turned and saw Bester walking into medlab holding two white objects in his hand.

"These were found in the entry plug after the boy was pulled out. I can't say what they are, nothing Earth Dome has been able to uncover has anything on these, our our young friend in there," he said, indicating the boy.

"How is he?" Asuka asked.

Franklin was the one who answered over the internal communication system, "So far everything shows he's in perfect health. No pathogens of any sort, no injury, the only thing I can find he's suffering from is extreme exhaustion and fatigue. There's also some unusual activity in the cerebral cortex. Without doing a more detailed scan my prognosis would be severe neural strain caused by an external source."

Bester took all of this, and took the opportunity to do a surface scan of the young girl now. How she fit in he couldn't say, but her thoughts revolved around this boy now. Everyone else's thoughts were along the same track, however she seemed to be the most interested in the boy himself. He didn't press too far in, but there was something decidedly odd about this child's mind.

Bester let it go for now, he was curious about the boys brain scans. Perhaps he was a telepath? That would at least put Bester into some kind of authority here.

Sheridan hit the com on his link, "Sheridan to Ivannova."

"Online," Susan's voice responded.

"If the tech teams can get close enough to the Eva, I want ever inch of that entry plug checked and rechecked. Go over it with a fine toothed comb, and then do it again," Sheridan ordered.

"Understood."

Sarah looked at the boy, and then it clicked, "Captain, I just received a couple of boxes from Earth. I think there might be some answers in them."

Sheridan turned and looked at her, "Why do you think that?"

"I opened up one of them just before the Eva did, whatever the Hell it just did. The first thing in the box was an old photograph. I swear, it was a picture of this boy and two girls the same age," she said. She didn't want to say what had really disturbed her about that picture.

"Well then, lets go take a look," Sheridan said.

Sarah placed her hand on Asuka's shoulder, "Come on, you need to see this too."

Before she moved Asuka saw Kosh at the door to medlab, "Do you know what is there?"

Kosh nodded. Asuka then asked him, "What will I find?"

"A legacy of sorrow."

-

He had been in this situation before, but something had changed. He no longer saw the familiar landscape of his home passing by as the train made it's endless circle around the great city. The world outside seemed to wrap around itself now, as if the world had enclosed itself on all sides. He could not explain it, but something felt right about this new setting.

Then he saw her standing in front of him. The saw gaze from blood red eyes he had become so used to before. She looked on him, and for a time he felt at peace. He said nothing, asked nothing, afraid she would disappear as she had so many times before.

He just sat there with her, as the world passed by and was engulfed in darkness when the train passed into a tunnel of some kind.

-

"Here they are," Sarah said as they entered her quarters. Asuka moved to the boxes quickly, wanting more pieces to the puzzle. The first thing she saw was the photograph her mother had mentioned. It was true, the boy in medlab was in the picture. The girls he was with though in it startled Asuka.

She saw herself on one side wearing the odd red suit she had worn in her dream, and the girl with blue hair was on the other side in the same suit. Asuka gasped as she looked upon the picture, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to understand what she saw.

"Asuka?" her mother asked, worried at her daughters reaction.

The child didn't answer though, she just looked at the image of herself in horrified silence.

"How can this be?" she asked before being led to the couch by Sarah. She was just sitting there, barely holding herself together.

"What's in the picture?" Garibaldi asked. The only answer he got was when Sarah handed it to him after pulling it from Asuka's grasp. Garibaldi looked at the picture and then showed the captain. They both kept the shock out of their own faces.

"Was there anything in their about this kid?" Sheridan asked Sarah.

"I don't know, I didn't have a chance to go through everything before the call from C and C. I have to go through it, but if that's in there I'm certain that we'll find out at least a name for this kid somewhere in there."

"And how did your family happen into all of this?" the captain asked.

"That picture is over two hundred and forty years old sir. I can't tell you where it came from, just that this has all been sitting somewhere in storage for most of that time," She responded, focused more on Asuka at the moment.

The captain was about to ask when the sound of two links going off filled the room. Both Sheridan and Sarah both looked at their communication devices and moved to check them.

"Officer Soryu, you have a stellar com transmission from IO," the tech on the other end told Sarah.

"Captian, priority transmission from IO, it's General Hauge," Ivannova reported.

The absurdity of two similar calls at the same time from the same place would have been funny under normal circumstances. However, with the way things had been going today Sheridan couldn't discount it.

"Patch him through to Officer Soryu's quarters. I'll take it here," Sheridan ordered. Sarah didn't object, and went to a com terminal in her bedroom to accept her call.

Garibaldi however kept his eyes on Asuka, glancing back at the photograph on occasion.

Sheridan accepted the call and the image of General Hauge appeared, "Captain Sheridan, I thought I would give you a heads up. I'm on my way to Babylon 5 aboard the _Alexande_r, I'll be there in a few days to inspect the Evangelion. Also, I'm bringing along one civilian with me. She has information that will be critical to the final analysis of the Unit."

That was damned odd, "General, if I may ask, how does a civilian have any knowledge of the Evangelion? No one in Earth Dome even knew it existed until a week ago."

"She's the only expert we've been able to find. I believe she sent along certain materials to Babylon 5 and they should be there by know," Hauge responded.

"I haven't received anything from Earth aside from the data they've been able to recover."

"She sent them to her daughter I believe," Hauge answered.

"I see, I'm actually inspecting some of those items now. Frankly General, I have to say this is starting to get very out of hand here. When can we expect your arrival?"

"I'll be there in two days, be ready for an inspection of the Eva shortly after we arrive. Hauge out."

Sheridan looked back at Micheal as Sarah returned from her call. She didn't look any happier then when she had disappeared to answer it.

"She just had to pick now to pay a visit," she muttered.

"I take it you're referring to your mother," Sheridan said, it wasn't a question.

"Yes, and all she told me was to let Asuka look at the contents of these boxes and follow her lead. I swear, she wouldn't even tell me what any of this was about," Sarah said, aggravated by the way her mother had evaded her questions.

Micheal took this opportunity to speak, "Well, she's hitching a high class ride I'll say that."

"What are you talking about Chief?"

Sheridan answered her, "General Hauge is heading in, and from his transmission it seems he's bringing your mother with him."

"This doesn't make sense, any of this," Sarah said.

Garibaldi motioned to the Captain, indicating that he felt they should leave for now. Sheridan agreed, not wanting to push the two women any more for the day. The strain on the two was beginning to show, and Sheridan didn't want to be the one to push them over the edge.

"Go through it, and bring anything that can tell us about that boy straight to myself or Mr. Garibaldi," Sheridan said, keeping his voice calm.

"Yes sir," she said before wrapping her arms around her daughter.

Sheridan and Garibaldi left, Micheal reminding Sarah to let him know if he could help at all. As they stood in the corridor Garibaldi just chewed his lip as he thought back.

"Something on your mind Micheal?" Sheridan asked.

"Just something Ambassador Delenn told me a few months back. She said, that the Minbari believe that each soul is reborn generation after generation, and that they go around looking for other souls they knew in past lives. Sometime to relive good times, and sometimes to make right the mistakes of the past," he said.

"And you believe this?" Sheridan asked.

"If you asked me before this all started I would have said no. After seeing that picture and all the other stuff happening around this thing, I'm not too sure anymore."

-

"I've seen that suit before," Asuka whispered after she had calmed down.

"Where could you have seen that before?"

"In a dream, I fell asleep in the cargo bay and had a dream just before he came out. I think, yes I know his name too. I've seen him before in my dreams as well," Asuka said, her voice so calm it made the hair on the back of Sarah's neck stand on end.

"How? How is any of this happening?"

Asuka didn't answer, she just got up and started looking through the boxes. One of the first things she pulled out was the red suit from the picture and the dream, folded neatly in the box. On top of it were two red objects, which appeared to be hair clips to the young woman.

"I know these things, I know I know them," she muttered.

Sarah was almost on the edge, she couldn't take much more of this. She walked up to Asuka and turned her around to face her. With fear and anxiety lacing her voice she said, "There's no way you can? You've never seen them until just now!"

"I can't explain it! I don't know how or why I know these things but I do. I've never held this thing in my hands before, but I could put it on with my eyes closed. I've never seen that boy before, but I know his name. I'm certain I know his name!" Asuka said. Her entire body was shaking as she spoke.

Sarah spun on her heel and walked back to the table the thrice damned picture laid on. Flipping it over to confirm what she thought was on the other side and making sure Asuka hadn't seen the handwriting she held the picture out so Asuka could see it.

"Alright, there is an easy way to clear this whole thing up. You haven't seen the names on the back here, and their written in Kanji script. You can't read that, you've always had problems with Japanese writing. I can, so I already know what's written here," Sarah declared, ignoring the fact she was seeing Asuka's name on there.

She pointed first to the second girl in the picture, "Who is that?" she asked. Sarah was certain that her daughter couldn't know these names.

"Rei Ayanami," Asuka answered, her voice dreadfully calm and determined.

Sarah held in the horror she felt hearing that name. It was exactly the same as what she was reading. She didn't want to ask the next question, but she had no choice, "Then who is he?"

Sarah felt as if her world would fall apart when she heard Asuka's answer.

-

Franklin had been going over every scan of their mystery guest for the last eight hours. Each time he came to the same conclusion. The conclusion however didn't sit right with him. He couldn't get the idea around his mind that this diagnosis was accurate, but it was the only thing that made sense. He just didn't want to get the opinion of the only other person on board that could confirm his findings.

He was broken from his thoughts when Talia walked into his small office area, "Dr. Franklin, can I speak with you?"

"Of course. Any problems from that telepathic cry you heard earlier?" the doctor asked. It hadn't just been Bester and Talia who had reported a strange telepathic scream at the same time the boy had emerged. Every alien telepath had heard it as well. Some where still having problems because of it, most notably the Centauri. Every Minbari telepath that had reported it had also described a feeling of overwhelming calm afterwards.

"No, the headaches gone now thank you. I just..." Talia started, but she couldn't finish.

"Just what?"

"I've just had this strange feeling in the back of my mind since it happened, and it gets stronger the closer I am to medlab," she said.

"I think I know why. Right when you heard that scream this boy emerged from the Evangelion. Every scan I've run since he came out has been the same. He should be awake, but he's not. It's almost as if he's being kept asleep, or doesn't want to wake up," the doctor said.

Talia just looked at the boy, and couldn't believe what her senses were telling her. There was no possible way she could be sensing this. It just didn't happen, no one, not even strong telepath could do this.

"Have you run a test to see if he's a telepath?" Talia asked.

"First thing I thought of when I did the initial neural scans. Look," Franklin motioned her to one of his terminals. He pulled up the cranial map he had constructed from the various scans and tests.

"Now, a normal telepath, regardless of strength, has noticeably higher activity in certain parts of the brain. His are all normal, except for the area's responsible for motor control and feeling. Those area's are suffering from intense and prolonged states of hyperactivity, they've also been artificially remapped from what I can tell. Bester carried in two pieces of odd formed plastic from the entry plug."

"And you think this has something to do with what's keeping him from waking up?"

"It's possible, I have a few theories, but the only person I can run them by right now is Bester. I don't want to bring him in on this unless I absolutely have to. Why did you ask about him being telepathic?" Franklin asked, curious.

"When I look at him, I don't get anything at all. Even people who've been brain wiped have some thoughts or the fragments of thoughts in their heads," Talia said.

"Well he is asleep. That could be what's keeping you from picking up on anything," the doctor offered.

"No, even when someone is asleep they put off random noise. I don't get anything at all from him." Talia said, slightly unnerved by the emptiness she felt from him.

"Looks like I'll have to bring in Bester. He's a P-twelve, maybe he could pick up on something you can't. I hate to do it, but it's the only thing I can think of," Franklin said, a bit of the fatigue he was feeling himself was beginning to show.

"Get some sleep first Stephen. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll wake up without Bester being involved," Talia said.

"Yeah, I hope you're right. I just wish we at least knew his name," Franklin said as he looked at the boy who lay peacefully in the medical bay.

-

He was standing in a garden now, the world wrapping around and coming back in almost a giant circle. It felt appropriate to him for somehow, that everything came back to the same point. It fit how his life had gone since he had first set foot in the once towering fortress city. Flowers and plants of all kinds surrounded him as he took in the enviroment he found himself in.

He turned and looked up towards a staircase, and saw her again. Why was she still here? She had died because of him, why did she keep haunting him. As much as he wanted to turn away, her red eyes wouldn't let go of him. Then she did something she had done too few times since he met her.

She smiled.

-

"This is intolerable Captain Sheridan!" Londo bellowed. He and G'Kar had been called to the Captains office to discuss the situation. Sheridan had briefed them about the boy now lying in medlab. G'Kar had taken the news calmly, and had gone into deep thought about the situation.

The same unfortunately could not be said about his colleague. The moment Sheridan had mentioned it Londo had begun demanding immediate access to the boy. When Sheridan had told him that was impossible for the time being he had simply began yelling.

"I'm sorry Ambassador, but he hasn't regained consciousness yet. Letting you have any access to him would not only be fruitless, but would hamper Dr. Franklin in his duties," Sheridan countered.

"It doesn't matter! He is responsible for the destruction of two Centauri warships, and the deaths of the crews on board! We will not standby while you protect this murderer!" Londo spat out.

"We don't even know if he was in control of the Evangelion. All the data we have indicates this unit had a history of acting on it's own. He wasn't even showing up on the sensors until 8 hours ago."

Londo stood up and stared Sheridan down, trying to force him to lose some ground. The Captain stood at the same time though, not giving any thing to the Ambassador. Londo spun on his heals and made to leave the office. Before he did though he turned back at the captain, "I have spoken to my government. We demand that this boy, and the girl Asuka be extradited back to Centauri Prime for Trial!"

"Absolutely not!" Sheridan said.

"He is guilty of crimes against the Centauri Republic, and all the evidence that has been mounting is showing that she is an accomplice! We demand they both face trial for their crimes!" Londo spat out.

"Asuka has nothing to do with this, so far she's just an innocent bystander caught in the middle," Sheridan countered.

"Her guilt will be decided by the Centarum, we have the right to demand the extradition of criminals!" Londo bellowed. He didn't give the captain a chance to answer as he left the office.

Sheridan just hung his head, then looked to G'Kar, "I take it you're government is demanding the same thing?"

G'Kar shook his head, "I've convinced the Ka'ri that deferring the matter to you would be the most prudent course of action. To do otherwise would take our attention from the War and risk putting our people in greater danger. The Centauri have taken the opportunity presented here by the destruction of so many of our ships by the Evangelion to press their attack. Most of the fleet is shoring up our defense and covering for civilians escaping the combat zone."

Sheridan sat down, "Well, at least there's that. Bad enough Londo wants them without both of you fighting over who gets to put the noose around their necks."

"What do you plan to do Captain?" G'Kar asked.

Sheridan thought for a moment, "General Hauge will be here in thirty-six hours, and hopefully we'll be able to solve this puzzle. Londo won't wait though, he's just going to call a session of the council and put it to a vote. He does that, then Earth will have to abide by their decision."

"If there is anyway I can assist Captain, let me know," G'Kar said as he made to leave.

Sheridan stopped him though, "There is actually. I need you to demand extradition of those two to Narn for trial."

"Pardon me?" G'Kar asked, confused.

"If you do that, it'll buy me enough time to figure out a way out of this mess."

"I did present the case for Commander Sinclare to be extradited after the attempt on Ambassador Kosh's life. I maybe able to convince enough of the council to at least abstain from the debate," G'Kar said.

"Thank you G'Kar," Sheridan said.

"No thanks are necessary. You've done much for my people during this war, we owe you a great debt. To not do what I could within my power would be disgraceful. Who do you plan to represent the interests of the two children?" G'Kar asked.

"I don't know yet. More then likely either myself or General Hauge will do that if the time comes. Just keep the council busy deciding on who should have the right to make the demand. If they side with you then we won't have to worry about it. If they side with Londo though, "Sheridan said, letting the last hang out there.

"I will do my best to see that they see the wisdom of allowing my people the right of trial. Good luck to you, Captain," G'Kar said, leaving Sheridan's office.

The Captain sat in his chair, thinking for a moment. Then he activated his link, "Sheridan to C and C."

"Online," came the voice of the tech on duty.

"Patch me through to Ambassador Delenn," he said. He needed to ask her a favor, then he would go to the one he felt may have the answer. The only question was would he understand it when he heard it.

-

The door had chimed twice before Sarah could bring herself to let whoever it was in to her quarters. Asuka had left an hour ago to go sit with the boy, not bothering her mother as she left. Sarah's world was slowly falling apart, nothing made sense anymore as she kept looking at the picture. They had found more in the boxes, including what appeared to be personnel files. Had she had the strength to do so, she would have taken those straight to the captain so she could get them out of her sight.

She stood slowly, wiping her eyes as she opened her door. Ambassador Delenn was standing behind it, and as much as Sarah tried to hide it she knew the Minbari could see the agony in her soul.

"Ambassador, come in," she said, stepping aside so Delenn could enter. She showed her to the couch and sat down as the Ambassador sat across from her.

"Are you alright?" Delenn asked.

"No, I'm not. Until yesterday, all I ever worried about was making sure Asuka finished her studies or wasn't hurt. Now I can't even sit down without worrying about the next few hours. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, and every time we get one more piece of the puzzle I feel even more ripped open," Sarah said, her voice low.

"It's difficult, to see your child pulled into extraordinary circumstances," Delenn said.

"It's not just that. I've found out more about my families history in the last few hours then I have in years, and it terrifies me what I've seen. Asuka's involvement doesn't make it easier."

"How is she handling it?"

"That's the thing, she's taking it as if it's normal. She keeps saying she knows the things we found. She even knew that boys name before we found the files, or saw the names on the back of that photograph. I don't understand how she could know these things. No one knows these things," Sarah said, just looking into space.

She continued after a moment, "I suppose you came to arrange that meeting with the Narn and Centauri ambassadors."

Delenn's face became serious, "No, the situation has changed. Ambassador Mollari has demanded that the boy and Asuka be extradited to Centauri Prime for trial," Delenn told her, hating to add to her burden.

"What! Why!" Sarah said, panic beginning to show in her voice.

"The Centauri government has decided that the destruction of their warships and the death of their crews should rest on the two. Ambassador Mollari has already begun demanding they be turned over to Centauri custody," Delenn informed her, preserving a semblance of a professional attitude.

"Great, I suppose the Narn want the same thing," Sarah said.

"Originally no. However, Captain Sheridan has convince Ambassador G'Kar to make the claim on behalf of the Narn. He's hoping that G'Kar can convince them to cede jurisdiction to the Narn instead of to the Centauri. If that happens, then everything will be settled as the Narn do not wish to prosecute. If not, he's hoping to at least buy enough time to find another solution."

Sarah got up from the couch and walked to the small kitchen area, pouring herself a glass of water. She slowly drank it, but her throat still felt horribly dry. Her grip on the counter tightened, as she tried to steady herself. "Why is this happening? Why?" was all she could say.

Delenn stood and walked to her, placing her arms around the other womans shoulders. Being one of the religious caste, Delenn could not stand to allow someone to suffer alone. Sarah allowed herself to be led back to the couch by the Ambassador, not really knowing what to do anymore.

Delenn spoke first though, "What's his name?" she asked.

"Whose?"

"The boy, you said you found out what his name was."

"Shinji Ikari," Sarah answered.

Delenn looked at the two files on the small table. She stood and picked them up and noticed something odd about the language used. It didn't look like anything she had ever seen on Earth documents. The pictograph language used was indecipherable to her.

"This doesn't appear to be human text," Delenn said.

"It's Japanese, not many people use it anymore what with English being the preferred language for most documents on and off world. It will probably have to be translated before it's any good to anyone," Sarah explained.

"I will take these to Captain Sheridan for you. He will be able to have it translated. I will have my aide Lennier come by later to provide any assistance you may need. If there is anything we can do to help, we will do what we can," Delenn said.

"Thank you Ambassador, I think we're going to need a lot of help," Sarah said as she walked Delenn to the door.

After the door had closed, Sarah went to her couch and sat there. Tears began streaming down her face as she broke down and couldn't stop for a long time.

-

Bester had slipped into medlab without much effort. No one had asked him about his business there. Even if they had he could just put a thought in their head and watch as they went on about their business. He walked towards the bed area that the boy had been placed in. He didn't pick anything up from the boy when he performed a passive scan on him. Bester would have pushed deeper, but he had other business to attend to.

Dr. Franklin was at his spot going over scans and test results on the boy. That was exactly what Bester wanted to see. The more information he could glean from the doctor, the better his position would be.

"Good Morning Doctor, how are you doing?" Bester asked, putting up an almost convincing show of pleasantness.

Franklin however was too wrapped up in what he was working on to notice, "Still stumped about a lot of what I'm seeing here. Either way, we won't get much more data until he's awake. Of course I can't even tell when that will be, everything I have says he should be awake right now."

"I could always do a deep scan, and get all that information for you," Bester offered.

"No, absolutely not. Not only is it illegal, but as a doctor I can't allow you to do anything that could aggravate his situation. A deep scan could do just that right now. Take a look at this, what would you say when you look at this scan," Franklin said.

He pointed out several sections of the boys brain scan. Several areas were highlighted and enlarged by the doctor. Franklin pointed things out on the scan as he spoke, "A lot of the neural damage is spread out over most of the brain. Areas responsible for motor control, sensation, even pain are suffering from major strain. More strain then any person puts on those sections of the brain in a life time, even under stress. Do any of these patterns look familiar to you?" Franklin asked.

Bester was slightly taken off guard by the doctor's question. It was odd that Franklin was sharing this amount of information with him. Bester did a surface scan as he examined the data. The only thing he could pick up on were the analytical aspects of what Franklin was thinking. The doctor's mind was full of information he himself couldn't make heads or tails of.

"I don't recognize anything out of the ordinary. I'm not a neurologist Dr. Franklin," Bester replied.

"No, but you are a telepath. I ran a search for similar cases to this. I found something back just before Psi-corp was formed. Apparently, there were experiments in attempting to create control systems in various forms of craft, where the human brain was connected to the control system remotely. It worked, but the subjects burned out quickly due to the strain of trying to control a system like that. They tried with telepaths later, the thinking being that since a telepath's brain was already wired for receiving and sending signals of that kind. They burned out to, but slower."

"What happened in those cases?"

"Well, that's the thing. The non-telepaths suffered from periods of fatigue, depression, and anxiety. The telepaths that burned out however went into short periods of catatonia, during which their brain would try to recover," Franklin said.

"So you think he's a telepath?" Bester asked, a bit too eagerly for Franklin's taste.

"No, the usual activity you'd see in a telepath's brain scan isn't there. Even in a resting state a telepath's brain is more active then a non-telepath. Those objects you brought in with you though, appear to be similar to what I was able to find out concerning those experiments," Franklin said.

Bester was not a fool though, "Doctor, considering the situation I do believe that I should be allowed to do a deep scan. I can get in, get what we need, and out minimizing any damage to the boys brain."

Franklin shook his head, "I told you before, I won't have you doing anything that would make his situation worse. Right now, anything out of the ordinary would do just that. What I would like you to do though is a surface scan, nothing major, I just want to confirm something."

"What is that doctor?"

"Just do the scan, I need to know what you pickup first before I say anything," Franklin said.

Bester did the surface scan as he had been requested. He pushed slowly, just gliding the surface of the boy's mind. What he found was unusual, he couldn't pick up on anything from the boy. He didn't push too much more after that, but just enough to test a theory.

His reward for his efforts was being forcefully shoved out of the boys mind by something. It was painful, and even the Psi-cop couldn't completely recover quickly enough to keep up the facade of being in control.

"Bester," Franklin's voice came through as he steadied the Psi-Cop.

Bester put his hands to his head, rubbing his temples as he slowly recovered from the telepathic attack. Franklin couldn't wait for him to be himself though, "What did you see?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. I tried to see if there was some kind of block in there preventing me from seeing anything," Bester said.

"A block wouldn't be too much of a problem though for you," Franklin said.

"Any block Level-12 or below yes. I don't think this was a block though, it was more like someone was actively blocking any scans. I saw a girl, probably fourteen, blue hair, red eyes. She said, 'Stay Out!' before forcing me out of his mind," Bester said, slightly winded.

"A human girl?" Franklin asked, himself finding it hard to believe.

"That's just it, she looked human, but the presence was very much alien. Unlike any alien I've ever encountered," Bester said.

"What exactly is going on here?" Franklin asked. He didn't expect a reply though.

Both men turned when they heard the door to Medlab open, and Asuka walk through the door. She walked up to Dr. Franklin and asked, "Doctor, I was wondering if it would be possible for me to sit with him for a while?"

"No problem at all. Just don't get in the way when the other med techs run the scans," Franklin said. Both he and Bester watched her as she went and sat in the isolation area with the boy. Before she went in though she heard the Doctor comment to Bester, "I just wish you had been able to get at least his name."

Asuka turned around and said, "His name is Shinji Ikari."

"How do you know that?" Bester asked, beating Franklin to the question they both wanted an answer to.

"I wish I knew," Asuka said, then entered the isolab.

Bester was curious, "Why is she allowed into a restricted area? She's only a civilian."

Franklin looked at Bester, hesitant to tell him anything related to the girl for her own safety. He relented when he figured it wouldn't matter if he told the Psi-Cop or not, "Orders from Captain Sheridan. Since the Vorlon Ambassador has taken an interest in this case, Captain Sheridan said anything the ambassador asks for should be granted as long as it isn't a threat to the station. Kosh requested that Asuka be allowed complete access to the boy if she choose to do so."

Bester thought about that for a moment, then made to leave. Before he left though he said, "It's interesting that a mere child seems to know more about this situation then any of us, isn't it doctor?"

Franklin nodded as the Psi-Cop left Medlab. He went back to his tests and diagnosis, trying to figure out his piece of this puzzle.

-

"Bester showing up was a surprise. I knew that sooner or later Earth Dome was going to send someone to see the Evangelion, the Eva I guess, but a Psi Cop? That just seems a little out of sort. Outside their jurisdiction quiet frankly," Sheridan said. He was in Kosh's quarters, hoping that the enigmatic ambassador might be able to shed some light on what was going on. So far, h Kosh had listened, but not said anything. Or at least, Sheridan was pretty sure that the ambassador was listening, it was hard to tell because of the encounter suit.

"Then the Centari decided that they want to try Asuka and the boy, Shinji I guess, for war crimes against the Republic. This seems extreme, even for them. I can't tell if Londo agrees with the decision though. Seems like I barely know him anymore. Thankfully G'Kar's people stepped in and made the same request, at my request. This should slow down anything happening at least long enough for General Hague to arrive with the one person who I guess will be able to answer some questions for me, who turns out to be Asuka's grandmother." Sheridan shook his head and chuckled. "Never a dull moment around here."

Kosh seemed to regard this last phrase especially, the lights on his encounter suit flashing quickly. "Yes."

Sheridan wondered for a second if the yes was in agreement or that there were dull moments, but that he was just missing them. "There are a few things I'd like to ask you though. You seem to be neck deep in this, so maybe you'd be willing to answer a few questions I had. Why Asuka? You're the one who brought her to us, so how did you know? Is there something the rest of us are missing? Why her?"

The ambassadors tilted his head to the side and regarded the captain for a moment before he answered, "Her spirit could be no place else, and there is no one else who could be a part of this. Echo's of a past tragedy at last to be stilled." The ambassador was silent for a moment, giving time for his words to sink in. Before Sheridan had a chance to press for more, Kosh spoke again. "That is all that is my right to say."

Sheridan was about to protest, when his link went off. He tapped it with a sigh. "Sheridan here."

"Captain," Ivannova's voice said briskly, "Some of the league ambassadors want to meet with you, probably about the Eva, but they wouldn't say."

"Never a dull moment," he muttered, then in his normal tone, "tell them to meet me in my office in one hour, Sheridan out."

"Yes sir, and I'll tell them. C and C out."

Sheridan regarded the ambassador one last time before he left and said "You know, one of these day's ambassador you're gonna ask me something and be just as frustrated." With that, he turned and left.

"Perhaps," Kosh said softly as the door closed.

To Be Continued...

Next chapter: The tension on the station only builds as the _Alexander_ arrives with General Hauge and Gertrude Soryu. The arrival also heralds the coming of a much darker shadow upon the station. Worlds at each others throats only become more dangerous as the fight over control of the two children heats up.

All the while, the young boy sleeps while watched over by Asuka. While watching him though she tries to unravel the mystery she has found herself trapped in. Why has this boy been in her dreams? Why does she know his name? The answers however kept from her by other powers.

Next Chapter: Dancing on the Line Between Darkness and Light

Authors Notes: Well, the last chapter I posted was posted while I was deployed. Well, here's the new chapter. We are still running a few things through and a lot is coming up. It's been difficult to do things while getting on with work. I have a few things coming up that will be taking time away from fic writing.

Pre-readers for this chapter were unavailable due to no one knowing B5 being available.


	5. Dancing on the Line Between Darkness

Forgotten Warriors

Chapter 5: Dancing on the Line Between Darkness and Light

An Evangelion/Babylon 5 Crossover

By: Legato Deathscythe and Isamu

Sheridan entered his office and found the Drazi Ambassador waiting for him. The Captain walked directly to his desk, not showing any real problem here. His manner as he greeted the Drazi Representative was cordial, offering him a seat which he took so they could get to business. "Ambassador," he said.

"Captain Sheridan, as you are well aware both the Centari and the Narn have been attempting to take jurisdiction over the all related materials to the Evangelion. Needless to say, the League is becoming involved as they have begun lobbying individual league members for their approval," the Ambassador said.

"Yes, however the boy is still human. Both he and the Evangelion fall under Earth's jurisdiction. Our investigation is still ongoing both here and back at Earth Dome. I would think in order for either to have a case Earth would have to be willing to withdraw our claim to it, and I doubt we will be agreeing to that anytime soon," Sheridan replied.

"I understand Earth's desire to protect their own, as does the rest of the League. This entire situation however is, unique I'm sure you will agree."

Sheridan barely repressed a chuckle, "That is defiantly an understatement Ambassador."

"The League has decided that the best way to proceed is to simply call a full council session to examine the evidence and receive an update on the investigation as it stands. We feel that the only way to resolve this is if the investigation is as open and transparent as possible," the Ambassador explained.

Sheridan didn't like the idea of various ambassadors looking over the technicians shoulders. He didn't want to hide anything from them, but having a torrent of curious ambassadors questioning everything as the investigation was on going would make for a sloppy report. However, the Drozi ambassador only really wanted what amounted to an update of the situation as it stood. That could be handled diplomatically enough, and with a minimum of interference with the tech crews.

"I don't see any problem with that Ambassador. I will want to remind you that we haven't been able to get much information from our investigation due to whatever energy field is protecting that thing. Most of the information we've collected about the Eva has been mostly from uncovered historical records. I'll share any information we have, but right now that isn't much. We still don't know anything about the boy we pulled out of it, or why it was ever constructed in the first place," Sheridan said.

"Of course, we... " the Ambassador said before he was interrupted by Sheridan's comm screen. The person on the other end appeared to be Commander Ivannova.

"Captain, sorry to interrupt. The _Alexander_ just came through the jumpgate," she reported.

"Thank you Commander, I'll be down to great General Hague and Mrs. Soryu shortly," Sheridan responded.

"Ambassador, I have to go meet the General at the docking bay. He's brought someone along who claims to have a lot of the answers we are seeking. Now, I am willing to call a council meeting to give an update after I've reviewed the information she is bringing with her and conferred with Earth Dome."

"Of course Captain," the ambassador said, then he departed.

Sheridan left soon after heading for the transport tube. As he stood in the tube waiting to arrive at his destination, Sheridan could only hope that the answers would be forth coming. He was tired of finding more and more questions.

--

Londo was having a difficult day. A simple mater of extraditing a criminal, whose crimes were obviously against the Centari Republic, was quickly becoming a major, galactic incident. First the Narns had decided that they too wished to try the boy child as well; which was obviously nothing more then a ploy to get the weapons on board the robotic monstrosity. But then the League had decided that it must interfere as well.

"Bah!" the ambassador said as he pored himself a drink and looked again at his orders, desperately hoping that they had changed in the last few minutes. Unfortunately, The Great Maker had not decided to have pity on the overworked ambassador. The words had remained unchanged. He was to secure both the machine, the Evangelion, and its pilot for trial on Centari Prime and reparation for the damage done to the Centari fleet. There was to be exclusive and full jurisdiction of both. "Impossible," Londo said quietly before he poured the brandy down his throat. "Impossible!" he said again, this time yelling it as he crossed his quarters, meaning full well to send a message home to tell the Emperor himself that if need be.

"So you can't see Mr. Morden today?" Vir suddenly said from the doorway, a hopeful expression clear in his voice and on his face.

"What's that Vir?" Londo said, suddenly turning to face his assistant.

"Mr. Morden is here to see you, but if it's impossible to fit him into your schedule, then I'll just send him away for you," Vir said quickly as he turned to leave the room.

"Morden's here?" Londo said, a little startled by the visit. "What are you waiting for, send him in Vir!"

"Damn," Vir muttered as disappointment and distaste crossed his face.

"What was that?" Londo said, as he began to look through the papers on his table, obviously all but ignoring his assistant.

"What, oh nothing, I'm just going to go get him now," Vir said without missing a beat.

Just as Londo was putting away the last of the documents that could be considered sensitive, Morden entered the room. Calm and serene with a smug grin on his face he cheerfully greeted the ambassador. "Londo, how are things?"

"Well enough, Mr. Morden, well enough. To what do I owe this visit?"

"I'd like to talk to you about the Evangelion," Morden answered, the smug grin growing deeper on the humans face.

"Of course, everyone else wants to drive me mad about that monstrosity. Why should you be any different," Londo said, suddenly feeling very tired.

--

As per usual there was no honor guard for the General. However his usual distaste for such things was only part of the reason. The fact of the matter was that both General Hague and Captain Sheridan preferred not to bring too much if any attention to the older woman walking next to him.

She stood all of five and a half feet tall, with gray running through what used to be fiery red hair. While she appeared frail, she walked with an air of strength that no man could penetrate. He gaze when fixed upon Sheridan almost reminded him of the number of times he had faced others in battle and looked into their eyes. Her visage softened though as Sarah Soryu walked up beside the Captain.

The older woman walked forward and pulled her daughter into a tight hug, "How are you holding up?"

"As well as can be expected Mother," Sarah replied.

"I understand completely, Liebshin. I don't see Asuka, with the boy no doubt," the older Soryu said.

"How did you know about that mother?" Sarah asked, afraid of the answer.

"In time my dear, for now pleasantries," she said before turning to Sheridan. "Captain Sheridan, I'm Dr. Katharina Soryu. My assistant should have forwarded more documents and materials concerning the Evangelion to your office prior to my arrival. I'm certain the materials I sent my daughter have already been examined as needed."

"Yes ma'am, I left that to Officer Soryu," Sheridan said in reply.

"A wise decision considering the circumstances. I would like to examine the Evangelion first and speak with my granddaughter. I must confirm my theory prior to any disclosure," the older woman said.

If Sheridan felt her demands were out of line he didn't say, "Of course, I'll let Officer Soryu show you the way."

Sheridan directed the two towards the exit, then turned to General Hague as the two women departed, "Good to see you John."

"Thank you General. I wish it was under better circumstances. The Centari have been demanding we extradited both children to them for trial. The Narn are demanding the same, but at my request," Sheridan said as he began leading Hague to the tube.

"Trying to stall for time?"

"Yes sir. I am hoping the request of the two will either force the Centari to stand down, or that I can at least garner enough support in the League in the time we have to maintain jurisdiction."

The two entered the tube and began the trip to Sheridan's office. For a second though as the door closed, Sheridan thought he saw a young girl with blue hair. He shook it off and continued.

"We may need to call a full session of the Council to decide this," Sheridan said.

"Do you think you'd be able to keep them within Earth's jurisdiction?" Hague asked.

"I'm pretty certain. Ambassador Delenn is assisting the Soryu's as much as she can. If it comes down to a vote then we can count on the Minbari. Oddly enough Ambassador Kosh has also taken an interest in this. That in and of itself is an event," Sheridan answered.

As they entered the General's quarters, Hague took out a small jammer and switched it on. The man always certain something was bugged at times. But with how things were going on Earth John couldn't blame him. The jammer also meant that Hague had something else he wanted to talk about.

"Clarke is chomping at the bit to get a hold of this weapon. That makes me and the rest of our allies nervous. Just seeing what it did to those cruisers is enough to convince me that we have to keep him from getting his hands on it at all costs," Hague said.

"I'm not quiet sure how we would do that. It's not exactly something we can hide, the situation is already too high profile for that."

"Yes, the Eva did make a rather grand entrance. I'm hoping that since it is obviously unpredictable that we might be able to convince Clarke that it's too dangerous to keep around. But I doubt that will work," Hague said.

Sheridan nodded, understanding that there was way too much at stake both here and at home for any misstep by any of them. He told Hague, "You know Bester is here?" Hague nodded in reply. "Just before the boy emerged the entire telepath population on the station heard what sounded like a scream in their minds. It overwhelmed many of them and some are still not entirely recovered. Doctor Franklin tells me that our resident telepath and Bester both did surface scans of the boy. They couldn't sense anything from him, as if he wasn't there. Bester tried to check for any blocks and was forcibly removed from the boy's mind by an alien consciousness he'd never encountered."

"As if he's being protected by something?" Hague asked.

Sheridan nodded, "Seems there are a lot of people interested in our wayward child."

--

Katharina looked up at the monstrous visage of the Eva before her. The bay had been emptied by most of the techs now, giving the old doctor a chance to examine it for herself. It didn't matter, she knew more then anyone alive about it's systems and mechanics. She had studied the files in the family library on and off her entire life. Fitting as her field of study was bio-mechanics.

"It's even more terrifying in person," she muttered.

"What's going on Mom?" Sarah asked.

Katharina let out a joyless chuckle, "Our families legacy come back to haunt us I'm afraid."

"I don't understand. What do we have to do with any of this? Why is this... this THING after Asuka?" Sarah's voice was full of restrained rage.

"There were fourteen of these behemoths in all built. The first three fought a horrible war that nearly saw those who fought it destroyed completely in mind and body. The sad thing was they were just children at the time, barely having lived their own lives. They didn't get the choice to refuse service, so bound were they to these things."

"You're not making sense Mother."

"One of the children who fought in that war was your great great great great grandmother, Asuka Langley Soryu," Katharina said, her voice full of sadness.

Sarah gasped, but there was more, "After the war she was the only one of those children thought to have survived. Her body was maimed, her mind almost completely destroyed. But after her final battle, before she returned to her homeland of Germany she took everything she could of the people she had fought with. Pictures, files, artifacts of their lives. There's a cello I brought with me that has been preserved for the last two and a half centuries the belonged to the boy she served with. The very same boy that is now sleeping in Medlab."

"Impossible, it is just impossible! How the Hell could that be true?" Sarah said, her anger getting the best of her.

Katharina turned and faced her daughter. Sarah was dumbstruck as she saw the tears on her mothers cheeks. "It is possible because these things come from a time when man tried to play God. Asuka has been pulled into this because she shares the blood of her namesake. I always feared this happening, ever since we started going out into the stars I feared this nightmare coming back to haunt us. My Mother also feared this day. I never told you because I didn't want you to know the same fear for you and your daughter. I hoped it would never have to be, and I could be the one to let this secret finally die with me.

"But it didn't die, it became flesh. I watched Asuka grow up with you and saw the similarities to the original. The intelligence, the fire no one could ever smother. The sheer resemblance was uncanny. And as she grew older and you raised her I saw that it wasn't just the family resemblance. She looked exactly like her."

Sarah couldn't speak, she was overwhelmed by what her mother told her. Katharina wasn't finished, "The Minbari believe that when one of their people dies, their soul is reborn in the next generation. We never believed such a thing, and I always hoped we were right. Asuka proved to me we were wrong. And now the Beast has awakened, coming here to find the one soul it recognizes in the entire galaxy. She has come to find the soul she knows will take over for her."

"This is insane Mother, it's complete madness," Sarah said, her voice quivering.

"The Evangelion is nothing, if not a harbinger of despair my Leibshin."

--

Dr. Franklin was making his mid shift rounds in Med Lab One when he came across Asuka. He stopped and smiled at the girl, shaking his head. It was an interesting situation. While it wasn't that unusual to see people sitting at the bed sides of family and loved ones as they recovered from injuries, or lay dying, it was rather odd to see someone sitting vigil over a complete stranger.

"Lucky young man there," Franklin said as he walked up behind the girl and gently put his hand on her shoulder. "Even light years and centuries away from his home, he has someone waiting for him to wake up."

Asuka, startled fully into the world of the waking, looked up at the doctor. "I guess," she said softly. "I just wish I knew why I felt so connected to him." The girl looked down at Shinji's sleeping form as his chest slowly rose and fell, trapped as he was in his deep sleep.

"Maybe you should think about going home and getting some sleep?" the doctor gently suggested.

"Maybe, but I'd like to stay here a little longer. It's okay right?" she asked hopefully.

Franklin smiled and said "Sure it is, but here," he reached beneath the bed and took out another blanket; "you look exhausted, try and get some rest or you'll end up sharing a bed right next to him.

"Sure, a nap would be nice," Asuka said as she wrapped the blanket around herself and put her head down on the bed. "A nap would be nice," and almost instantly she slipped into sleep.

"Poor kid," Franklin said as he switched some of the lights in their med lab station off. "I hope this all works out for her." As the doctors words drifted threw the room, and the lights dimmed, a third presence drifted silently though. The girl, who looked no older then Asuka, with azure hair smiled a little smile at the red head, and brushed her hair.

"It is almost time, Soryu."

As soon as Asuka had set her head down, she felt sleep come over her, dragging her quickly down into its comforting embrace. As her breathing steadied, she looked up, blinking in the late afternoon light that was filling her world.

As her eyes finally focused in on her environment, she realized that she was in some sort of public transport. She found herself in some sort of blue jumper with a white blouse under it, and something strangely comforting holding her hair up. After taking in the outfit that was so reminiscing of her doppleganger from the centuries old picture, she began to look around more intently, curious of her new surroundings.

What ever she was in it was certainly old fashioned. Blue plastic seats supported by thin metal polls lined both sides of the car, facing away from the windows and towards the row opposite. The car itself was barely big enough to allow a person to walk between the rows of uncomfortable benches. There were handles for standing passengers to hang onto that threatened to collide with her head as she walked down the row.

The rumble of the car as it went along its tracks filled her ears just as the light of the setting sun filled the car. Smells of wood, metal, burned plastic, pollution, urine, all mixed together to bring about a cocktail of memories that couldn't possibly be hers. She began to travel down the empty cars as they rumbled steadily down the tracks.

"Where am I?" she said aloud after several minutes of walking down through the seemingly endless train. She was not expecting an answer, so it's not surprising that she jumped high enough to hit her head on one of the metal support rails when she got one.

"You are where he is," a soft voice said from behind her. "Where he has been waiting."

Asuka spun to confront the new voice, and found herself staring into intent red eyes. "Shiest Wondergirl, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that," she said, as she took a step back, rubbing her sore head.

"I am sorry Soryu, I did not mean to alarm you," the girl said softly.

Asuka took a better look at the other passenger as she rubber her head. The girl was probably her own age, with short blue hair and red eyes. She was also wearing the twin of her own outfit. "Just don't do it again, and how do you know my name? Do I, do I know you?"

"Yes, in another life," the girl said enigmatically.

"In another what? Who are you?" Asuka said, wanting to take another step back, but refusing to show the other girl any hint of fear.

"You may call me, Rei" she said, almost uncertain at her choice of name. "It is... convenient."

"Sure, Rei," Asuka said, looking at her fellow passenger like she was a mad woman. "So then, Rei, where are we?"

"As I have already said, we are where he is, where he has been waiting," Rei said, tilting her head to the side, puzzled at the others question.

"But where is that?" Asuka said exasperated. "And who's 'he' supposed to be?"

"He is over there," Rei said pointing to the next segment of the car they were in, "And I think you know who he is, or at least have guessed."

Asuka looked to where the girl was pointing, ready to tell her that she was crazy, but the words died on her lips. "Shinji?"

There, not four meters away was the boy from the Eva. He sat on one of the benches and dressed in a white short sleeved shirt and black slacks. Headphones of some sort were wedged into his ears. He had not seemed to notice the two girls as he sat there, lost in his own world within a world.

"Yes, Shinji Ikari, Third Child and the Pilot of Evangelion Unit 01."

"So, what is this, a dream of some sort then? What's he doing in my dream?" Asuka said, afraid to move.

"He is not in your dream Soryu, you are in his," Rei said, as she crossed the space to stand beside the other girl.

"What does that mean? How can I be in his dream, I'm not a teep," Asuka said, turning towards Rei.

"No, you are not a telepath, but the two of you are linked none the less. Does this frighten you Soryu?" Rei said.

"I, well, no, I don't think it does. It's weird, sure, but it just seems kind of, right. Like I've been waiting for something like this," Asuka said, turning to look at the oblivious boy once again. "But what does it mean?"

"That is for you to find out, Pilot Soryu," Rei said.

Asuka turned to the other girl at the last. "What do you mean, 'Pilot Soryu'?" she asked, as some fragment of memory tickled at her mind.

"Asuka is that really you?" a new voice said, something very close to desperation in it. Again the girl spun towards the boy.

Finally looking up from the floor, Shinji had turned towards the red haired girl, and taken off his headphones. "Asuka?" he said again, but this time there was hope in his voice, relief.

"Shinji," Asuka said.

"Asuka, wake up dear," another voice cut through the world held by the sunlight and train, and Asuka suddenly opened her eyes and sat bolt upright.

She looked around, blinking the sleep from her eyes, and found that she was again, or was it still, in med lab. "Mom?" she said sleepily.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Dr. Franklin said you were asleep for about an hour or so."

"Really? It didn't seem to be that long," Asuka said, as she stood up, rubbing the top of her head, finding a raised lump from where she had hit it in her dream. Or was it in Shinji's dream.

"Your grandmother is here, she says she needs to talk with you," Sarah said.

"Yeah, just let me fold up this blanket and thank the doctor," Asuka responded, still rather bleary eyed from the short nap. They left the room just in time to miss the slight shift in the monitoring machines beeps and outputs, and the stirring of the boy's frame.

"Asuka, tasukete," he whispered, to quite for anyone to hear.

"_Asuka, Help me."_

_--_

Asuka followed her mother into their quarters. She immediately saw her grandmother standing there waiting for her. Asuka smiled and walked up to her, hugging her tight. Katharina returned the embrace, holding her granddaughter close for a moment. They sat down on the couch with Sarah going for a drink of water. Asuka could tell her mother was having problems getting through this whole thing. She just didn't know what she could do except what she was doing.

Katharina knew she would need to deal with her daughter's issues later, for now though she needed to speak with Asuka. "How have you been coping with what's happened?"

"As well as can be expected I suppose," Asuka said.

Katharina nodded, "Have you felt anything strange since the Eva arrived?"

Asuka nodded, "Yeah, knowing things I shouldn't know for one. Being drawn to that thing then Shinji. It's weird, I don't understand what's going on but something seems right about all of it to me."

If her grandmother was disturbed by this she didn't let on. "You went through most of the items I sent?" Asuka nodded in the affirmative. She had looked over most of what was there. She even had the hair clips she had found in her pocket, letting their shape press against her.

"What I am about to tell you has been our families secret for over two hundred years. When humanity started going out into space we began preparing for this day. I hoped it would come in my lifetime but it has. Remember though, whatever happens you are still my granddaughter, your mother's daughter. Nothing will ever change these facts." Katharina then started telling Asuka all there was to know about the Angel War as the journal of Asuka Langley Soryu called it. She told her of the Evangelions, of the Angels themselves. She told her about the Commander of the now forgotten organization NERV.

Asuka was more interested in the words her grandmother spoke regarding Shinji Ikari. Sarah had long since sat down as he mother spoke, describing in every detail she had available what happened in a now lost city on Earth. Katharina spoke to them until very late. But she had one thing left to do before they could retire.

"Asuka, I want you to have this. This is the journal of your namesake, she kept her thoughts and feelings close to her. The last entry is the one you should read first," Katharina said as she handed Asuka a painstakingly preserved book. Asuka smiled and hugged her grandmother.

"It's late Liebshin, go and get some rest," Katharina said. Asuka left the two older women to themselves.

Sarah looked tiredly at her mother, "Is it fair that you are putting this all on her?"

Katharina shook her head, "No, but she is the only one of us who really has any part to play in what is happening." Sarah didn't look well thinking about that. Her mother could tell, "I know you want to protect her from everything going on around you. You must feel like I've destroyed everything in my wake with this. Maybe I have, but all I can do right now is tell her what she needs to know to get through this. We all have to get through this."

Katharina watched her daughter nod, the tears starting to flow down her cheeks. All the older woman could do was take her own daughter into her arms and hold her, as she weeped for the youngest of their families innocence.

--

Sheridan has tried his best to fight it, but it seemed that the council would not go his way. Too many in the League wanted more answers before they put the motion up for a vote. G'Kar had done his best to give him as much time as he could, however that time had run out. This was how Sheridan found himself sitting in the council room, Delenn on his right and G'Kar on his left as Londo made his demands.

"You WILL surrender them to the Centari for trial Sheridan," Londo screamed, his face almost exploding.

"Absolutely not, there is no way I'm going to turn over two citizens of Earth over just because you demand it. If you want to get your chance at them then you are just going to have to make your case to this council in a formal hearing," the captain said, refusing to back down. Kosh stood out of the way watching the exchange.

Londo huffed, "Very well, if you insist then I move that a formal hearing be immediately called."

Sheridan already had his victory, as a formal hearing would require that Londo garner enough votes from the five major powers after his motion to extradite was seconded by the League. Sheridan also know that Molari knew the same thing. This was all for show.

"We will hold a formal hearing tomorrow then, I take it you will represent your governments demands and I..." before he could finish his statement Kosh spoke.

"The Vorlon Empire will represent the Children in this matter," he said. It was the first time anyone could remember him actually speaking during a session. It was also one of the very few times that anyone who had spoken with him extensively could remember him saying anything that wasn't a riddle.

Sheridan could not refuse, "Very well. We will reconvene tomorrow and begin this hearing."

Londo knew he would lose to a straight vote of the council, G'Kar would be of no help to him due to the state of war. Delenn would side with Sheridan, even if he abstained due to the situation. His only wild card had been Kosh. Now that card had been dealt decidedly against him. He wouldn't surrender so easily.

The only reason he had stopped trying to get the Centarum to give up on this debacle was that Morden had been adamant about his associates interest in the two. That made Londo interested in keeping those associates happy for the time being. Right now however he felt as if his head was being used in a Mass Driver.

--

Asuka lay in her bed in restless slumber. Her dreams kept revolving around the boy and that monster. She saw herself inside the entry plug, him pressed against her as they pried open the mouth of some monster. Then she was living with him, trying to move at the same time he did, even going as far as breathing in sync with him. The heat of lava pressing in on her as she was about to fall to her death and the sight of the Beast holding on, not letting her go.

The images were filled with other people as well. The purple hair woman lived with them, the unshaven man she saw herself cling to, the blue haired girl and the man with the glasses. She didn't know how but she knew she obeyed his orders, and that he was Shinji's father. A girl with twin pigtails at school, wearing the uniform she had found in the storage containers. Two boys always around Shinji, both always eager to get some time with the older woman.

The images became even more disturbing now. She could feel her own mind break down over time. She screamed as she saw herself scream when one of the monsters they fought invaded her mind and showed her images that came close to driving her mad. She saw herself laying in a tub of cold rain water waiting to die.

Then she was in darkness, only a shaft of light surrounding her. She was once again wearing the plugsuit from the picture, only this time she was starring back at herself. Her right eye was covered by bandages as was her arm. The look in her mirror gave her was one of longing and lose.

"Don't lose him like I did," the mirror said, almost too softly to hear before it vanished. Asuka turned around, now alone in this dark place. As she did she found herself locking eyes once again with Rei.

"Do you understand now Second Child?" She asked her. Asuka could only nod.

"You have always had these memories within you. They are a part of your soul that remembers nightmares that no human could handle. But this time your soul has not know the same hardship. Take what you have learned," Rei said.

Rei the lifted her arm and pointed to a spot behind Asuka, "Take what you have learned and guide him along the same path."

Asuka turned and was looking right at Shinji. She stepped towards the boy, noticing him flinch as she reached out and took his hand. As he fingers grasped his the dream faded.

As she awoke from her dream she knew. She knew where she had to be and quickly threw on some pants and a shirt before leaving a note for her mother. Asuka could see her Grandmother sleeping on the couch, covered by a light blanket. Asuka left their quarters quickly to go to the one who needed her.

As she had awoken, one of the nurses in medlab was checking on the boy from the Beast as he was being called. She looked him over, a feeling of regret for the boy washing over her. As she was about to turn to leave his eyes shot open.

Shinji Ikari had finally awakened from his two hundred and fifty year slumber.

To Be Continued...

Next Chapter: Londo fights a hopeless cause before the council, the odds stacked against him. As the fate of the Children is decided, one will be forced to come to terms with his circumstances, and the other will finally learn what as driven her for as long as she could remember.

Chapter Six: Ikari's shadow, Asuka's light.


	6. Ikari's Shadow Soul Diving

Forgotten Warriors

Chapter 6: Ikari's Shadow / Soul Diving

By: LD

Disclaimer: See Part 1.

Asuka walked into a buzzing medlab, and she already knew the reason. Nothing stood in her way as she made her way to the bed where Shinji lay. Doctor Franklin was already looking him over, trying to get him to relax. Shinji however was panicking, Asuka could see the cold fear in his eyes as he tried to speak to the doctor but Stephen couldn't communicate with him.

"Someone get a translator in here now," Franklin demanded. Asuka heard the language Shinji spoke and already knew she could speak with him.

Her eyes met his, and he immediately began to calm down. She was probably the only familiar face he knew. Asuka spoke to him before Franklin could say anything about it. "It's okay, he's a doctor," Asuka said in Japanese.

Shinji nodded, "Are you alright? When I saw you you were..."

Asuka shook her head, "I'm sorry, I'm not the Asuka you know."

Shinji didn't understand, "What do you mean? Asuka this isn't funny, where am I?"

Doctor Franklin broke in on the two, "You can talk with him?"

Asuka answered him, "Yes, he's speaking Japanese and I know that language. Never could read it though."

Franklin nodded, "It will do for now, see if you can calm him down. I don't want to risk a sedative right now."

Asuka was helpful in getting Shinji to cooperate. There were parts where the boy seemed to already know what was about to be asked. After he was satisfied that everything was alright with the boy he left the room. Franklin left to make his report, but not before telling Asuka to try and keep him calm.

Asuka stared at the boy intently, trying to figure out what to say to him. How was she going to tell him everything that had happened? What could she say that would make the pain her words would bring any less? Nothing really seemed appropriate, except for the truth.

"What did you mean you aren't the Asuka I know?" he asked.

Asuka sighed and sat down next to him in the chair she had grown too familiar with, "I don't even know where to begin."

She noticed Shinji staring at her, looking her over, "You're alright though? I saw Unit Two torn apart, I was afraid you were dead. I should have tried harder to get to Unit One."

Asuka shook her head, "I'm sorry, but she is dead."

Shinji's widened in shock and guilt, but that didn't stop Asuka, "She died about two hundred years ago. She lived to the age of seventy-two and then passed away quietly in her sleep surrounded by family. Everything she had from when you knew her was already locked away in storage. We've been keeping it all safe ever since."

If Shinji wasn't in shock before, he was getting close, "Two hundred years?" Asuka nodded, watching the boys reaction. She could see his hands begin to shake, followed by the rest of his body. "Touji, Kensuke, Hikari, everyone, all dead?" Asuka nodded again, but this time got up and sat next to him, placing her hand on his.

"I don't know why I look like her. She was my ancestor yet I've been seeing things in my mind as if I was her. Everything is strange right now, and it's only going to get harder now that you've woken up. We have things in our quarters you should see, perhaps there is something there that will help you through this. I wish I knew."

Asuka saw the tears slide down his cheeks, and did the only thing that made sense to her. She pulled him into her arms and held him as he cried. So deep was his sorrow she could feel it herself and shed a tear with him in rememberence of the people he had left behind. Neither of them noticed the Vorlon turn and leave them together.

--

"So what's his status Stephen?" Sheridan asked.

Franklin rubbed the bridge of his nose as he answered, "Physically he's alright, nothing I can find to hold him in Medlab. Ms. Soryu has been acting as translator for him until she can get his English at least up enough to speak for himself. Seems he only speaks Japanese which has made any communication difficult without her."

Hague spoke up at this, "Almost as if something or someone planned it that way."

"I couldn't tell you General. All I can say is that he is as fit for release from Medlab as he can be. The rest is going to take a lot of time and patience," Franklin said.

Sheridan nodded, "Thank you Doctor. I think the best thing to do would be to release him into the Soryu's care for now. Do what you can for him Stephen."

Franklin nodded and left Sheridan's office. Hague stood and watched the door the doctor had left through for a moment. "Are you certain that's a good idea John?"

Sheridan knew what the General was asking, "No, but from what Dr. Soryu has told us it makes the most sense. I'm more worried about this hearing before the council."

Hague threw him a glance, "I thought you already had enough votes from the Council to prevent the Centauri from getting their hands on the two."

"It's not that. Ambassador Mollari knows he can't win on a straight up and down vote. Even if Earth abstained on this the Minbari, Narn, and apparently the Vorlons now will vote against him. No, he's doing this for show. I've got a bad feeling about this," Sheridan admitted to the General.

The General nodded, "And what about Bester?"

"He's been quiet, a little too quiet. He's doing just enough to be annoying but hasn't tried anything. That telepathic kick back must have rattled him."

Hague nodded, "I have to report back to the Joint Chiefs and the President. I'll update them on the situation while you tend to the Council. Keep your eyes open for anything."

"Have to around this place, but then again nothing is ever quiet what it seems," Sheridan said as the General left the office.

--

Asuka had left Shinji in Medlab to rest, trying to give him time to adjust to what he was going through. She wasn't sure if it was right to leave him there, but she needed time as well. Everything had happened so fast over such a short amount of time. Revelations into her families past had felt natural for a time. Now however it was all starting to set in, and she didn't know if she could handle it. The visions of a life not her own haunted her. The pain and loneliness these images made her feel. Asuka was having a hard time making sense of them all.

So as Shinji rested she sat staring at a stone garden. The waves in the sand meticulously cared for warping around each single stone. So engrossed in her thoughts she never noticed the black clad figure of Bester sit down next to her. The Psi-Cop sat there, patiently waiting as he listened to the thought noise she put out. He didn't have to be a telepath to know what she was thinking or who she was thinking about right now.

"You know, there are more ways to tell what a person is thinking then just being telepathic. It's in how they sit or stand, how they hold their hands, or the look in their eyes. Just by looking at that I can tell that you are very troubled without even touching your mind or listening to what ever thought noise you are putting off," Bester said, trying to break the ice.

Asuka didn't know why but the thought of the image of herself being mind raped came to mind at the sound of Bester's voice. She shivered as she thought of it, turning to Bester and asking, "Can you see that thought?"

Bester took the question at it's face and looked at the image. As much as he flaunted his talents, even taking the liberties he would go after lower level telepaths, what he saw sickened him. He nodded as Asuka looked back at the stone garden, "I've got a thousand thoughts just like it running in my head right now. You're a Psi-Cop, what would you call that one?"

Bester choose his words carefully, "I'd call it telepathic rape, something I'd hunt a man down for and probably have a convenient accident with," he admitted. After all, psi-cops were still human.

"Is that what a deep scan is like?"

"Similar, the further you dig the more damage you can do to someones mind. It's why we have strict rules about how telepaths act and use their abilities."

Asuka nodded, "I suppose I should be grateful, I'm not the one that had to go through that. That was another girl with my face, my name. I don't understand though how those memories can be in my mind if I never lived them. They belong to a girl dead for two centuries. I just have her face, and now I'm trying to reach out to a boy that saw those nightmares. Hell, he suffered his own nightmares from that previous life. How can I even hope to understand him when I can't make sense out of my own head?"

Bester took in her words as she spoke. Her feelings were pouring out of her mind like a sieve, one thought after another. It was a sad truth that telepaths had to shield themselves from this thought noise if only just to stay sane. The voices were constant companions. Bester however picked up on something in those thoughts, "You feel you owe him something that this other Asuka couldn't do for him?"

Asuka didn't respond. Bester continued, "All I can say is that from what you've said you have come as close as any normal can to knowing what a telepath feels. We hear peoples thoughts as loudly as if they spoke them, and build up walls around our minds to filter them out. If we didn't we'd go mad. Mental illness is unfortunately a part of the deal. A lot of telepaths go insane during training just because they can't stand the voices always being present. Perhaps that's what makes us so mistrusted, the fact that we can't even control ourselves at times."

Bester smiled, "But then again I don't think what you need to hear are the ramblings of an old Psi-Cop like me. The question becomes though, regardless of where these memories are coming from what do you do? Yes, they are thoughts from someone you never knew in your mind trying to find purchase. But you are still the same girl who only a few days ago was eager to see something that was strange and wonderfully scary. Who you are doesn't change because a few memories show up out of no where."

Asuka let the words linger, playing them through her mind as her eyes traced the waves on the sand. Bester placed his gloved hand on her shoulder, "Regardless of what has happened, if the circumstances were more normal would you still be willing to help this boy? You already know the answer to that question. That answer is all you need to know."

Bester stood and began to leave her to ponder his words. Before he left she sent one thought straight at him.

_Thank you.  
_The waves in the stone garden continued to remain immutable and unchanging before Asuka's eyes until one of the stones was in place. She just wondered which she was, the steady wave or the stone that changed everything.

--

Garibaldi had been keeping an eye on Bester the whole time in one way or the other. When he heard that little bastard was near Asuka he had immediately went to drag him away. As he was turning the corner he almost ran smack into the smug Psi-Cops face. Garibaldi could barely contain his loathing for the smaller man. Bester usually would simply smirk at the Chief but this time simply ignored him.

"You know I should lock you away for going near a minor without their parent or legal guardian available," Garibaldi seethed.

"Perhaps you could, however I have not violated any laws governing telepaths or other people. I'm well within my legal authority to simply try to monitor anything that could be influenced by the Evangelion. Also, that girls mind has been flooded by thoughts and memories that aren't her own. A little telepathic assistance would benefit her. This way she's not the only one to have seen what's been put in her head. You'd be surprised how that sometimes puts people at easy Mr. Garibaldi," Bester said.

Garibaldi ground his teeth, "You still need written consent when it comes to a minor to even talk to them in any official capacity."

Bester turned and regarded Garibaldi for a moment. The look in Bester's eyes was something he hadn't had in the few times Micheal had dealt with him, "Do you ever have any children Mr. Garibaldi?" Bester asked, already knowing the answer.

"No."

"I do. Any real father who saw that look on a child would have done the same. Even if it wasn't his own," Bester said. He then turned and left Garibaldi in the corridor to chew on what had transpired.

--

Katharina stood before the behemoth, silently cursing men and women long dead as she watched various tech attempt to unlock Eva's secrets. She knew they would fail, hoped that no useful data would ever be taken from this monstrosity. The nightmare that would result from humanity getting it's hands on this power again terrified her. Not to mention if it was captured by the other races. She trusted no one with this power. No one at all.

"_Why couldn't you sleep for the rest of time and drift beyond the rim? Why did you have to come here? Was it him? Did you finally find it in yourself to give him a chance without your interference?"_

The old woman ran her fingers through her hair. Naturally her thoughts were followed by nothing but silence. The log entries, reports, and journals she had read from the NERV Project E Staff including Pilot Asuka Langley Soryu were all very clear about the danger this beast posed. No one would be safe should it loss control again as it was known to do. Or the worst possible scenarios, should one of the other races get their hands on this technology and the power it could bring. To say nothing about the atrocities that would be committed to feed this particular beast.

Her bones ached with worry over what horrors this beast brought with it. She turned away, quickly leaving the cargo bay. She had already been notified by Captain Sheridan about arrangements for the boy. The covenant her family had been sworn to by destiny demanded she do no less then help the boy adjust. Though while she would do what she could for young Ikari, her thoughts couldn't help but drift to her granddaughter.

It was selfish, but she was an old woman and allowed to worry about her grandchild above interplanetary relations and ghosts.

--

The Council chamber filled with mummers as the various ambassadors milled in. General Hague sat in the back watching the proceedings carefully, gaging the delegates as they took their seats. He knew the Narn and Centauri had been making the rounds, but he was interested in how they actually saw the situation. The general in him saw the entire situation from it's military and strategic aspect. The Evangelion and it's pilot were a major technological and military advantage for Earth. Allowing it to fall into the Centauri's hands while depriving Earth of it's technology was simply not an option. The fact that the council would not allow the Centauri to acquire either eased the older man's mind some. However he also knew that Earth could not be allowed to gain this technology.

The President was growing more and more paranoid by the day. Knight Watch, Ministry of Peace, and the Psi-Corp presented very real domestic threats to the Alliance. Allowing Clark's people to potentially get their hands on some technology they could abuse to their purposes was just as dire a problem as allowing a foreign government the same technological advantage. Something would have to be done in order to neutralize the threat.

Ikari was just a boy, and yet he had presented one of the greatest threats to the Earth Alliances security and survival since the Earth-Minbari War. The irony of it being that every bit of information they had found pointed to him having been put in this position to protect Earth. The universe had a funny way of rewarding someone who made such a sacrifice.

He couldn't stop himself from imagining the reluctant warrior's battles, his struggles with what he was responsible for at an age where he was also defining himself. Adolescence was hard enough, but when one was tasked with protecting Earth at an age many years before he could volunteer for what would become Earth Force military service. What was his life under his commander? Prior to serving in this position of combat, did he have a good life? They still hadn't translated any of the personnel files Dr. Soryu had provided. And even then Hague didn't expect any usable data save for a service record.

While he wasn't thrilled with the Minbari involvement with those files he didn't see any problems. Most of the information within those files more then likely would come out in these very proceedings. It would hopefully be minimal information, nothing anyone could use against them on either side of their precarious perch. Sheridan could handle the council, and most of the deep diving into the past could be handled by his people. It was the two children that held Hague's concern.

Bester sniffing around didn't make him comfortable, but he was disciplined enough to keep his surface thoughts in check. Without a deep scan he couldn't be found out, and anyone would be able to notice such a thing. Something was protecting the boys mind according to Dr. Franklin, something not entirely human and yet not an aggressive entity. For now it wasn't an issue. The girl however would be.

The Minbari attache Lennier walked up to him and bowed, he presented the General a file and said, "Captain Sheridan asked me to give you this as he is indisposed with the proceedings and Commander Ivannova is in C&C."

Hague opened the file and asked, "What am I looking at?"

"This is the translated personnel file on Mr. Ikari. Captain Sheridan just received the translations from the native Japanese and requested you be given a copy to look over while he was involved with Ambassador Mollari and the Council's requested meeting."

Politely Hague said, "Thank you Mr Lennier."

The Minbari once again gave Hague a small bow and moved off to his position next to Ambassador Delenn. He had to admit that as an ally the Minbari ambassador was an asset. There was certainly some mutual respect between the Captain and most of the ambassadors.

Hague sat back and read of the file Lennier presented him. Perhaps it would give him some insight into the Child Warrior they found themselves with.

--

Sheridan had convened the session calmly as he could. He was outwardly calm and confident as usual. He showed no indication of any worries or weakness. Inside however he was cautious. Simply because the outcome of these proceedings were pretty much a foregone conclusion was no reason to drop his guard. He couldn't help but keep his eyes opened looking for any subterfuge on the part of anybody at this point. Only his people were completely trustworthy. Even then they were only human.

The Captain continued to go over Ikari's personal file. The service record was very impressive for someone his age ad no formal military training. A few disciplinary marks were on the file, which after reading left him wondering why they had come up. After all, this was a child they were talking about. It seemed callous to expect him to act the role of seasoned combat veteran so soon. Tough break for the kid and his fellows.

Still, to have faced down such a situation at such an age deserved a level of respect from Sheridan. He looked up as the meeting began. He still couldn't figure out what Londo was playing at. The ambassador was making a strong argument towards having the kid taken back to Centauri Prime for trial. No one in the council was believing it be anything but a farce if that happened.

"_What are you playing at, Londo?" _Sheridan thought to himself. He looked at Kosh out of the corner of his eye. He hated it when things were hidden under layers of dust and deceit.

–

While the fate of the young man was being debated, Asuka was leading Shinji into the quarters she shared with her mother. The young woman had already arranged some of the items her grandmother had sent along. When they entered her quarters Shinji simply took off his shoes and set them at the side of the door. Asuka was curious for a moment, but then shook her head. Something in her head was telling her that that was a habit borne of tradition.

She sat him down and went to the Babcom to order some dinner. When it was done she turned and joined Shinji in the living area. She made sure to remember to speak in Japanese for him as she asked, "So, what do you want to ask?"

"Where exactly are we?" Shinji asked.

Asuka smiled, a simple question first, "We are on Babylon 5. It's a space station run by Earth. I suppose you could also say we're in orbit of Epsilon Three, the third planet in the Epsilon Eridani star system. It's a three day jump back to Earth through hyperspace."

Shinji shook his head, "We're in space?"

"Yup."

"That's just..."

"I know, pretty freaky when it was just science fiction a couple centuries ago," Asuka said.

Shinji just shook his head, "Is Earth still there?"

Asuka handed him a drink and sat down, "Yup, Earth is still where you left it. I haven't been on world for a couple of years though. Earthgov keeps things pretty nice, of course there are some issues with the planetary governments at times."

Shinji was a bit confused, "Earthgov?"

Asuka smiled, "Think of it like the United Nations. The UN was dissolved and the Earth Alliance setup near the end of the twenty-first century. We left Earth and colonized Mars first. People wanted to go out further so over time we sent out ships with people in cold sleep."

"That seems like a long time to get here. Why go through all that trouble?" Shinji asked.

Asuka smirked, "A little over a hundred years ago we made first contact with the Centauri Republic. We got Jumpgate and Jumdrive technology from them. I don't understand all the astrophysics behind it, but for all intents and purposes distances in Hyperspace are shorter then in Normal space. A trip from here to Earth would be three days by hyperspace, where in normal space it would take hundreds of years."

"I... think I understand," Shinji said, sounding more then a little confused.

Asuka chuckled, "Don't worry, a lot of people who grew up with this stuff don't understand it. It just is."

The door chimed breaking up their conversation. Asuka went and checked the door screen, seeing it was just the delivery man. She opened the door, paid him his credits, and then brought it in. She had ordered a pizza from the Zocolo, nothing special and brought out two plates for her and Shinji.

They sat there eating in a companionable silence. Asuka asked, "Grandmother brought a lot of things from Earth with her. I think a few of them are yours."

Shinji looked up at that, "How would your grandmother have anything of mine?"

"Apparently our ancestor packed up everything from Tokyo-3 and put it in storage. It's been in the family ever since. In fact..." Asuka left the table and went to one of the storage closets. She opened it up and dragged out a familiar if dusty cello case.

"I am guessing this is yours," Asuka said.

Shinji took the case and looked it over. The embossed initials, SI, still visible. He opened the case and inspected the carefully preserved instrument, confirming that it was in fact his. "I'm surprised she kept any of it."

"Why don't you play a few chords, see if it needs anything. Strings should only be a few credits if you need them," Asuka recommended.

Shinji blushed lightly as he set the cello against his shoulder and sat down, "I'm not very good."

Asuka just smiled encouragingly, "Humor me. Just play, nothing specific."

Shinji sighed and couldn't help but smile back. He did as she requested, and closed his eyes as he drew the bow across the strings. The sounds and tones carried through the Soryu quarters drew the young girl in. There was nothing completely recognizable about the piece, but she could feel his sorrow and pain through the music. It was so horrifically beautiful she couldn't restrain the tears from slipping from her eyes.

When Shinji finished she felt her hands clap on their own. "For someone whose not very good, you play wonderfully."

The unfamiliar praise from a face he had never known to be anything but scornful caused him to blush even more. "Thank you."

Asuka brightened up a little bit with an idea, "Come on, pack up your cello and follow me."

"Where are we going?" Shinji asked.

"The garden."

–

"_He knows this is a lost cause. I can tell. He's doing this because his government says so. Still, he had to have told them the situation. So why are they doing this?" _Sheridan thought to himself as Londo made his case. He still couldn't come up with any reason for it though.

"The boy in question single handedly destroyed one of our warships, in Centauri space on routine patrol. Such an act cannot go unpunished. As the original attack occurred within our borders, it is only fair and right that he be remanded to our custody for trial, to answer for the deaths of our people he caused," Londo said, his voice brimming with bravado he didn't feel.

"Also, the female human is obviously an accomplice to the boy. As such she faces charges as well before the Centaurum. Extradition of suspected criminals is allowed under our treaties with Earth and by consent of this council," Londo said.

Before anyone could speak Kosh simply said, "First strike."

Londo barely paused, "The boy failed to respond to hails in both Centauri and Interlac. Fighters were dispatched to intercept the Evangelion."

"But, by your own governments admission and the sensor log data your fighters fired first. With no confirmation of hostility or intent your people attacked. Why would your people do that when there was no threat being made?" Delenn mentioned.

"We are in the middle of hostilities with the Narn. Sector 1138 lays upon our border with the Narn. It was perfectly reasonable to assume the object was hostile when it crossed into our space," Londo said. Sheridan had to give him credit, his reasoning was perfectly logical.

G'Kar stood up and demanded, "You lost one Warship, while my people lost several. Why should the Centauri be given preference over our losses?"

"We were the first harmed by the boy and his monstrosity. It only makes sense we get first right to try him," Londo said.

Kosh stepped forward, "Ghosts of past wars, cannot stand on the battlefield."

Londo was understandably confused, as were many in the council chamber. Sheridan smirked, "I think what Ambassador Kosh is saying is that you can't confirm he was even in there when the attacks occur. For all we know, your attack activated an automated defense system."

Londo looked stumped for a moment. Sheridan decided to take pity on the ambassador, "I'm releasing all information related to the case for all Ambassadors to evaluate. This includes copies of several files that we just received from Earth and are translating. We'll reconvene here tomorrow, and see if we can't resolve this."

Londo just turned and left the council room, Vir shrugging and heading off in his wake. The rest of the ambassadors and their assistants left shortly after. As they did General Hague approached the Captain, "Putting all your cards on the table?"

"Seems best, get everything out in the open so it can do the most good. With that, no one will be able to make a play for the Evangelion without the others getting defensive. Same goes for us," Sheridan said.

"You are playing a dangerous game, John. I just hope you have one hell of a poker face," Hague responded. He left the council chambers, leaving Sheridan and Kosh alone.

John turned to the enigmatic ambassador and said, "Time to put some ghosts to rest."

Kosh merely nodded and returned to his quarters.

–

Garibaldi sighed as he made his rounds through the station. All the ambassadors were safely packed away in their quarters looking over the stuff the Captain gave them. Down-below was quiet for the most part. And except for a couple of warships hanging around outside the station no one was expected through the gate for a few hours. All in all everything was very peaceful. So he was ready for the worst.

He was walking throw the passenger terminal when he saw a familiar Minbari coming through customs. He shook his head and met her as she walked towards the rest of the station. He didn't mind seeing this Minbari, just wished she had given him fair warning, "Shaal Mayan, what a pleasant surprise. If I had known you were coming I would have arranged for security."

Mayan simply smiled at him, "I know, and I am honored for your concern for my safety, Mr. Garibaldi."

Micheal just smiled, "You got attacked on my watch, I'm not wanting to let that happen again."

"With everything going on I doubt you have to worry about me," the Minbari poet said.

"Exactly, it's not exactly the safest time to be around here," Garibaldi said as he walked her to pick up her bags.

"Which makes this a time when someone like myself is most needed. If only to provide hope for the many caught here," Shaal Mayan said, a small smile on her face.

Garibaldi's link interrupted their conversation, "Garibaldi, go."

Zack's voice came over the link, "Chief, I got something going on down in the garden. Nothing serious but you might want to come take a look."

"What's going on?"

"Looks like Shinji's putting on an impromptu performance. He's got a bit of a crowd gathering but nothing out of control just yet," Zack said.

Garibaldi thought on it for a second, then asked, "What's he doing?"

"Playing a cello. Nothing I recognize but I'm not a fan," Zack said.

"Alright, I'll check it out. Garibaldi out," he said then signed off his link.

He looked at Mayan and said, "You know, you might be interested in this."

–

When the pair arrived at the Garden it was to a deep mournful sound. Many people seemed to have taken up seats or were standing near the walls listening to the music produced from the deep polished wood of Shinji's cello. Garibaldi had to admit, he didn't know much about this kind of music but the kid was good. He spotted Zack on one side of the group, and nodded when he caught his subordinates eye. He kept any eye on the crowd, looking for anything dangerous. He spotted Bester a ways away, and his skin crawled as the Psi-Cop looked his way and did that wave of his.

Mayan simply closed her eyes, letting the music flow through her. When it was complete she found herself wiping away a single tear, "He is most skilled. I have rarely encountered someone so capable of conveying such a complete view of their own soul."

Micheal took it for what he could, "I'm not much of a music buff myself."

Mayan smiled, "For a true master, one doesn't have to have an appreciation, but simply ears with which to listen. With time he could easily become such."

"I'll take your word for it. Right now my priority is keeping him and his red haired friend safe. He's part of the reason for all the fuss around here lately."

Mayan paused for a moment, "Then perhaps I truly have come to he right place, at the right time."

Garibaldi just shook his head and excused himself. Sometimes he really didn't get the Minbari, but he didn't mind them so much. The Psi-Cop however was a different story. He walked over toward Bester and glared at him before saying, "I suppose you are just enjoying the performance?"

Bester smirked, "I happen to have an appreciation for art. Is that such a surprise, Mr. Garibaldi?"

"Yea, you and everyone else I run into today."

Bester chuckled, "Something interesting I find about this boy. He's not putting off any thought noise."

Garibaldi decided to forgo his indignation and asked, "So?"

Bester looked thoughtful for a moment, "There is a theory running around the corp. Everyone, normal and teep, is set up when they are born to transmit their thoughts to the world. Most normals don't make much of a distinction when it comes to their thoughts, they think being able to hear any thoughts is a scan. For all intents and purposes neither does the corp. However, it's like talking in an apartment with thin walls, and being offended when your neighbor hears you screaming in the other room.

"Telepaths build up walls to block out as much of this casual noise as possible, mostly for our own sanity. Now, while we can block out most of the noise, and while everyone can learn techniques to keep casual scans out it is never completely quiet."

"So?"

Bester smirked, "A few members of the corp started talking about the possibility of someone who has no transmission capabilities. A sort of perfect block. Even a P-twelve wouldn't be able to break through because in effect there is nothing there."

Garibaldi was confused, "You're saying he doesn't have a mind to read?"

Bester shook his head, "More along the lines of his mind working on a completely incompatible frequency to everyone else's. A few scientist I know actually think that everyone in someway has telepathic perception of some kind. Nothing like what a member of the corp is, but that little bit of perception that lets you know someone is watching you. If they are to be believed, then it would be something we'd never notice, but be completely used to."

Micheal was starting to get annoyed, more so then usual, "Your point?"

Bester just graced him with that condescending smile, "My point is simple, Mr. Garibaldi. If you don't have that psychic connection to the rest of the world, then how do you think the world would seem? Think about it."

Bester pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on and with a wave was gone. Micheal just turned and watched the pair as Shinji finished up whatever it was he was playing. As he boy started playing another piece Micheal couldn't recognize he remembered Mayan and got a crazy idea in his head.

He tapped his link and said, "Garibaldi to Ambassador Delenn, an old friend of yours is down in the garden."

To Be Continued...

Authors Notes: Still working on it, and bringing in another Character which might be interesting over time. If you haven't watched Babylon 5, then shame on all of you. I hope this was worth the wait. Also, Isamu is no longer helping with this story, mostly because he's vanished into the either.

Prereading done by Datdude. You know, dat one... dat dude right over there!


End file.
